Dragoons of the Sacred Jewel
by Plantress
Summary: One day while in search of the shards the group stumbles upon an unusal gem... Kagome takes it with her unaware that it and it's fellows can unlock powers more destructive then the Shikon Jewel(Chapter Five: Deals and Darkness up)
1. An Unusual Gem

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Legend of Dragoon. 

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Dragoons of The Sacred Jewel

Chapter One: An unusal gem

"Are you sure this is what you sensed?" Inuyasha snapped as he prowled around the corpse of the demon he had just slain. He stopped once or twice and gave the corpse a kick. He turned to look at the teenage girl that was standing a few feet away. 

"Well?" He asked "Are you sure?" Kagome sighed and brushed a strand of hair out from in front of her eyes. 

"Yes, I'm sure this is the demon Inuyasha." She said then frowned. "I could have sworn it was carrying a shard but it wasn't nearly powerful enough to be carrying one. And I can't see one anywhere on it's body." 

"Feh" The half-demon snorted. "You must be loosing you touch wench." 

"Inuyasha……" Kagome began in warning.

"Bet Kikyo wouldn't have made a mistake like that." He said under his breath. Unfortunately Kagome was standing near enough to hear every word. 

"SIT!" She shouted, a small smile on her face as Inuyasha was slammed face first into the ground. "I heard that Inuyasha!" 

"Feh, Stupid Girl." He said as he glared at her before stalking off. Kagome was about to yell out another sit after him when a voice interrupted her. 

"What did he say to you now?" Miroku asked. He glanced back and froth between Inuyasha's retreating figure and Kagmoe's sullen face. 

"Nothing Miroku." Kagome replied as she side-stepped to avoid the monks groping hand. She turned her glare upon him and started to berate him. 

"Kagome?" Shippo's voice rang out from behind the demon. The small fox demon stepped into view with something cradled in his hands. 

"What is it Shippo?" She asked as she crouched down to look at it. 

"Didn't you say that the demon didn't have a shard of the jewel?" 

"Yes I did Shippo." Kagome sighed. She was getting tired of repeating herself. 

"Then what's this?" He asked and opened his hands. Kagome gasped at the small white sphere laying in the center of his palms. 

"I…I don't know Shippo." She said then turned to look at Miroku who had also come to see what Shippo had found. 

"What do you think it is Miroku?" The monk leaned down for a closer look then frowned. 

"It seems to resemble an eye…." He said. This statement caused Shippo to drop the sphere and step backwards shuddering and wiping his hands on his pants. 

"An EYE? Ewww!" At the moment Kirara trotted up and sniffed at the jewel. She mewed at Sango who was returning after changing out of her fighting clothes. 

"Miroku was just teasing you Shippo." She said as she glared at the monk. "It doesn't look like an eye to me." The demon slayer picked up the jewel and held it up the sunset squinting at it.

"It looks more like pearl to me." She said after a moment "But what would a demon this far from the sea be doing with a pearl?" 

"I don't know Sango. Maybe Kaede does. If we take it back to the vill…." 

"What in the hell are you doing!" Inuyasha interrupted as he stormed up to them. 

"If we don't get going soon we won't be able to find somewhere to camp tonight." 

"Be patient Inuyasha! Shippo found something interesting and we're just trying to see what it is!" The half-demon looked over to Sango who still held the stone. 

"Feh, it just looks like a rock to me!" 

"Well it isn't! Sango thinks it's a pearl." 

"So?" 

"Pearls are much more valuable then rocks!" Kagome shouted at him.

"Feh, why should I care?" Inuyasha snorted. Resting the urge to yell out the word sit she turned to Sango and held out her hand. 

"Can I see it Sango?" She asked the demon hunter. Sango recognized the annoyed tone in Kagome's voice and simple nodded before she dropped it into her outstretched hand. 

The moment the pearl touched her hand a flash of extremely bright light lit the clearing and obscured everyone's vision. Kagome automatically dropped the pearl and took a step backwards, hand's up raised in a useless attempt to shield her eyes. The flash had been so bright that it was several minuets before Kagmoe's vision cleared enough for her to see her companions. Much to her surprise Inuyasha had somehow manage to step in front of her and now stood protectively, a transformed Tetsusaiga held in his hands. Miroku and Sango had also shifted into battle stances and Kirara had transformed. 

"What…..what in the hell just happened!?" Inuyasha demanded after a minuet or so when no threat manifested it self. 

"I don't know." Kagome said softly as she glanced around. Shippo, who was hiding behind her legs, also looked around. Inuyasha snorted and sheathed Tetsusaiga before he turned and glared at Shippo. 

"Why in the hell did you bring something dangerous like that over to Kagome? You could have hurt her!" Inuyasha shouted at him. Kagome was slightly startled at Inuyasha yelling that _she _could have been hurt when a moment before he had been yelling at her for messing up but she couldn't let him yell at Shippo like that. 

"It's not his fault!" She said as she picked up the kit. "He didn't know anything like that would happen. And it's not really dangerous, it's not like anyone got hurt or anything!" 

"Someone could have though!" Inuyasha shouted back at her. "He shouldn't have brought something he found on a demon to you!" 

"Quit acting like I'm helpless Inuyasha! I can take care of my self!" 

"Really! Then that's why Sesshomaru almost killed you huh? You were taking care of yourself!" 

"That's totally different and you know it!" Fortunately at that moment Miroku spoke up and cut their argument short. 

"Did either of you notice that when Sango was holding the pearl nothing happened?" He asked.

"Feh, it was probably waiting for the weakest person in the group to hold it or something!" 

"SIT!" Kagome shouted and watched in satisfaction as Inuyasha was once again body slammed into the ground. 

"Or maybe it was set to go off after a particular length of time." Sango mused. 

"But it's not like it actually hurt anyone, why make a bright flash of light?" Shippo asked. 

"A distraction?" Kagome said and then glanced around nervously. 

"Unlikely. If there was an ambush set they would have already attacked." Miroku said. 

"Inuyasha, why don't you pick it up." The half-demon was still sitting on the ground grumbling. 

"Why me?" He asked suspiciously.

"You're half-demon and less like to be permanently harmed if it is a trap." The monk answered. Inuyasha glared but reached out and took the jewel in his and……nothing happened. 

"What the hell?" He muttered and shook it around as if he suspected it was broken. He looked over and saw the Miroku was frowning. 

"Strange. May I see it Inuyasha?" He asked and held out his hand. Inuyasha snorted and threw the pearl at him. Miroku caught the sphere one handed and looked at it for a few moments before looking up at Kagome. 

"Kagome, maybe you should try holding it again." 

"Al…alright" Kagome said a little nervously. She put Shippo down and then reached out to take the sphere. This time she was prepare for the flash and managed to shut her eyes a second before it went off. When she opened her eyes again the light had faded but the pearl continued to give off a soft glow. 

"It's pretty." Shippo said from the ground. Inuyasha reached over and bobbed the kit over the head before he stood up and snatched the sphere from Kagome's hand. 

"Hey!" She exclaimed and tried to grab it back. Inuyasha just pushed her away. 

"Quiet wench." He ordered then scowled. "Hey, it stopped glowing." 

"SIT!" Kagome said. She reached down and picked up the sphere that Inuyasha had dropped when he was slammed into the ground. "It's rude to grab things Inuyasha!" 

"Feh, shut it stupid…….girl." He said as he stared at the pearl in her hand. It was glowing again. 

"So it only works when Kagome holds it?" Sango asked and held out her hand. Obediently Kagome dropped into her palm then watched as the glow faded once again. She reached out and took it back and the gem started to glow once more. 

"But why me?" Kagome asked. "I'm just a normal girl!" 

"It could be responding to your powers." Miroku said with a thoughtful look on his face. 

"Powers?" Kagome said laughing. "I don't have any powers. It's not like I'm really a priestess." 

"You got that right." Inuyasha snorted out. Kagome glared at him and he shut up but only to glare back at her. 

"Then what about you arrows Kagome?" Sango said, Kirara mewing in agreement. Kagome opened her mouth to respond but stopped when she realized she couldn't explain her enchanted arrows. 

"I….I'm going to show this to Kaede." She stammered out and started to walk toward her bike that lay a few yards away. "Maybe she'll know what it only glows for me." After a few steps she looked back at her friends. "Well, are you coming? We have to leave if we want to find someplace to camp before nightfall." 

Grumbling Inuyasha walked over to join her. After a few seconds so did Sango, Miroku, and Shippo followed them. Kirara stayed behind and kept glancing around, fur slightly fluffed up until Sango called out and she raced to join her companions. 

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No one, not even Inuyasha, noticed the figure that had been watching them from the trees. It hissed in annoyance and narrowed crimson eyes as it watched them leave. Once they were out of sight it spread wings of light and darted off deeper into the forest. 

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Plantress: Well there's the first chapter. This is actully a concept that's been rolling around in my mind for a while now so I thought I might as well do something with it. Please excuse the grammatical errors that always seem to elude me no matter how many times I reread my work, spelling and convention aren't really my thing. Any way please Read and Review to tell me what you think, and remember: the more review I get the faster I update. Thanks

-Plantress.

Next Time! **Chapter Two: A Ruby and A transformation! **


	2. A Ruby and Kagome's Transformation

I do not own Inuyasha or Legend of Dragoon

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Dragoons of the Sacred Jewel

Chapter Two: A ruby and Kagome's Transformation

"I'm afraid I am unable to help ye child." Kaede said as she set the pearl down. 

"Are you sure you don't know anything?" Kagome asked disappointed, Kaede was the only one she knew that might have a clue about the enchanted pearl that they had found. Kaede nodded and turned toward the fire once again. 

"Aie Kagome, I am sure. That gem be like nothing I have ever seen before." The old priestess replied as she 

"Thanks anyway Kaede." Kagome sighed as she picked up the pearl and dropped it into the pouch she had found for it. The pouch was made of leather and hung around her neck. She wasn't sure why but some inner instinct was telling her that she had to keep the gem close. Kagome turned to leave but Kaede stopped her. 

"Wait Kagome." She called out. The younger woman stopped and looked back at the older priestess. "Be wary of thee gem ye carry. It may appear harmless but ye remember that it is of demon origin and ye must be wary of whatever power it holds." 

"I will be." She promised and turned to head out, but she paused when Shippo ran up to her. "Shippo" She said frowning "Aren't you suppose to be waiting with the others?" 

"I…was" He answered breathing hard "But…someone….came……demon" 

"A demon's in the village!?" Kagome said in shocked tones as she glanced around trying to spot the creature. 

"What be this I hear about a demon?" Kaede said as she stepped out of the hut. Her bow was already in her hands and she held several arrows. 

"No!" Shippo said frustrated. "Here just follow me!" He shouted as he raced off. 

"Wait up!" Kagome called after him but he was already out of sight. 

"I shall follow ye as well. I may yet be able to lend some assistance." Kaede said from behind her. It wasn't hard for the two women to pick up Shippo's trail, the whole village was heading in that general direction. _What could Shippo have found this time?_ Kagome wondered as she and Kaede hurried to where all of the villagers had gathered in ring around something. Some of the villagers noticed them and parted. 

"Lady Kaede and Lady Kagome have come, make room!" As they walked through Kagome heard Miroku's voice right before they got to the center of the ring. 

"Your certain?" He was saying to someone. She heard whoever he was gasp in pain as she pushed her way to the center of the ring. She walked up and gasped at what she saw. A young man was lying on a make shift stretcher in the center of the circle, his hair had almost completely been burned off and he bore bad burns on his arms and face. 

"What happened?" She said as she raced over to were Miroku was standing. 

"My village was attacked!" The man gasped out. "A demon covered in flames raced out of the woods and burned down everything before we could do anything! I was the only one to escape with my life." He lay back and closed his eyes, breathing heavily. 

"From his description we believe the demon may be caring a jewel shard." Miroku told Kagome. "Inuyasha, Sango, and Shippo are waiting for us at the edge of the village." 

"But I can't just leave him like this…." Kagome said as she looked back at the man. Kaede looked up from were she was kneeling by the stretcher. 

"Get ye gone child! I shall take care of this unfortunate." She said. With a nod Kagome turned and ran toward of the village with Miroku right behind her. As she raced into the view of her friends Inuyasha sprang up and glared at her. 

"What in the hell took the two of you so long!?" He demanded as she and Miroku came up to them. "We could've been halfway to the village by now!" 

"I had to make sure someone was taking care of that man." She snapped as she stopped to catch her breath. 

"Feh, who care about him, he could die now for all I care." 

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped out. "You don't really mean that." 

"You know Inuyasha" Shippo said from down by Inuyasha's feet " I wonder exactly how much of you blood is demon, because sometimes you act more demon then human." Inuyasha lifted his foot and brought it down hard on the little fox-demons head. 

"Shut up ya little runt! We have to go _now_!" He snapped the last part of his statement at everyone in the group. 

"Fine Inuyasha, just let me get my bike and we can go." Kagome said as she started to turn around. Suddenly Inuyasha shot out his hand and grabbed her wrist. 

"There's no time for that wench!" He snapped.

"Then how am I suppose to keep up with you?" Kagome demanded. 

"Just come here!" He said as he pulled her toward him. 

In a few minuets the group had set out with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo riding on Kirara's back while Inuyasha carried Kagome. 

"It would only have taken me a minuet to get my bike Inuyasha." The young woman grumbled. 

"A minuet we don't have!" Inuyasha shot back "For all we know Naraku is already going after the shard!" 

"I don't think one minuet would make a difference." 

"You don't know that!" Inuyasha snapped and then glanced over at Kirara. He had noticed that Miroku had been following their conversation with a faint smile on his face. 

"What are you smiling about monk?" He growled. Miroku shook his head and smiled wider. 

"I was simply thinking Inuyasha: It would not have taken that long for Kagome to fetch her bike." 

"That's what I've been saying!" Kagome said. 

"So I thought that maybe you had…..other motives for carrying her on your back hmmm?" He finished. 

"You…you stupid lecher! Not everyone has your perverted you know!" Inuyasha shouted out as he looked in the opposite direction to cover his slight blush. Kagome simply looked down blushing furiously. 

"Kagome" Sango called out in an attempt to distract everyone. "Can you sense the shard of the jewel yet?" Kagome looked up and frowned.

"I can sense something…..but it doesn't feel like one of the jewel shards." She said

"One of Naraku's fake ones?" Inuyasha said as he flexed his claws. 

"No, it's not that either." She said frowning. "It feels different but this feeling is familiar too, but I don't know where if felt it before." 

"Could it be another pearl?" Shippo said as he hopped up and looked over at Kagome.

"It could be" Kagome said slowly. "but I really don't know Shippo. I could be anything." 

"Well, we'll find out soon." Sango called out. "Look tree tops!" Everyone looked up ahead of them and saw a cloud of billowing smoke raising above the tree tops. 

"That must be the village!" Inuyasha shouted. "Let's go." The group increased it's speed and in a few minuets had reached the edge of the devastation. 

"What in the hell….?" Inuyasha asked as the dismounted and glanced around. 

"Hell is right." Shippo said as he jumped into Kagome's arms to avoid the hot ground below. "It looks as if some dropped apart of it right here." 

The ground on which the stood had, like basically everything else in the village, been burnt black. Only piles of ashes and charcoal with an occasional piece of wood sticking up out of the debris now marked the areas where houses had once stood. Small fires still burned and the ground itself was still warm from the flames that had past over it. However that wasn't what made Kagome shutter, what made her nervous were the skeletons that littered the surreal scene. The villagers that hadn't made it to safety were scattered every were, half-way buried under a pile of ashes, laid out on the ground or sprawled as if having tripped, it looked as if they had died were ever they had fallen. Miroku had stopped and it looked like he was praying. Sango had walked over and was kneeling by one of the skeletons who was half buried under the roof of a house. Slowly she reached and tried to pull it out but the moment her finger tips touched bones they seemed to dissolve, collapsing in on themselves until all that was left was a pile of ash. 

"The flames were so strong they turned anything they touched to ashes." She commented softly. "We'll have to be careful when we take on this demon." 

"Huh." Inuyasha snorted. "We'll see how tough it is when I blow it out with the Wind Scar!" Suddenly a scream rang through the air and everyone whipped their heads around to the east. 

"It came from over here!" Sango called out as she started to run in the direction the scream. As the rest of the group caught up to her more screams rang out and the smell of charred flesh began to drift up from the edge of a river, the smell was strong enough for even the less sensitive noses of the humans to pick it up. As they neared the river's edge the demon came into view standing among the few houses that hadn't been burned down yet and Kagome gasped. 

The demon looked almost like a blob of black ooze with flames running rampant all over it as if it was made of oil. The only features that could be made out were a pair of eyes that looked like small flames buried in it's head and big mouth that was lined with teeth that glowed red, almost like heated steel. A pair of long tentacles that served as arms stirred as it turned it's face toward them. 

"Heeee, half-breed." It wheezed out in a hissing voice. "Burn it." 

"Feh, not a very smart one are you." Inuyasha observed as he drew Tetsusaiga and advanced on the demon. 

"Heeee, burn!" The demon wheezed and lashed out with a tentacle at Inuyasha. The half-demon easily dodged the clumsy strike but the tentacle itself crashed into one of the houses behind him. Immediately the hut burst into flames and within moments was nothing more then a pile of ashes. 

"Be careful Inuyasha!" Kagome called out. 

" I'll be fine." He answered right before the demon struck at him again. "Your going to have to do better then that….UH!" Inuyasha was forced to dodge to the side as the demon swung it's other tentacle-arm a few seconds after the first. 

"Heeee, stupid half-breed." It said gleefully. Inuyasha, slightly scorched but otherwise unharmed growled at the demons remark.

"Who are you calling stupid, you blob! WIND SCAR!" The massive attack slammed into and knocked it backwards and, as Inuyasha had predicted earlier, extinguishing all the flames on the creatures body. With a final wheezing scream the beast seem to collapse in on it self. Kagome ran over to Inuyasha's side.

"Are you alright?" She asked him worriedly.

"Feh, I told you I would be didn't I?" He said confidently.

"Yea, right before you almost got burned." Inuyasha brought his foot forcefully down on Shippo's head. 

"Shut up fox!" He growled. He twitched his ears as he picked up a conversation that Sango and Miroku were having over by the pile of sludge that had once been the demon. 

"It's oil." Sango was saying as she rubbed a bit of it between her fingers. "And probably ash as well." 

"And blood, lots of blood." Inuyasha added as he walked over to them. 

"Are you sure Inuyasha?" Miroku said frowning.

"Feh" Inuyasha snorted. "Of course, I could smell it when we entered the village." 

"Then that means that this isn't a real demon." The monk said frowning at the remains. "It was made by someone." 

"Do you think it was Naraku?" Sango asked as she cleaned the oil off her fingers. Miroku shook his head at her suggestion.

"This isn't his style, this was just a simple rampage, the demon didn't even recognize Inuyasha." 

"And it was heading away from the us." Kagome commented. 

"True." Miroku said nodding in agreement.

"Well whatever it was it's dead now. Are you sure there's no shards on it Kagome?" Inuyasha asked turning toward her.

"Positive." She answered. 

"Then lets go back." Inuyasha said turning to leave. He stopped when a flash caught the edge of his vision. _What was that?_ He thought. He turned back to the sludge pile and saw something red flashing in the sun. _Why in the hell didn't Sango notice this_? He wondered as he reached out for it. 

"What are you doing Inuyasha?" Kagome asked from behind him. The half-demon jumped and blushed slightly. 

"What do you care?" He demanded. When she didn't answer he snorted and pulled whatever it was out of the still warm muck. As soon as his hand touched it a flash of red light caught everyone's attention. Inuyasha stumbled backwards and blinked rapidly trying to restore his vision. 

"Inuyasha what did you do?" Kagome demanded, then her eyes went wide. "I…Inuyasha?" She said quietly. 

"What is it wench?" He asked and then followed her eyes down to the thing that he had pulled from the sludge. It looked almost like a ruby that had been turned into a perfect sphere. And it was glowing softly. 

"What happened Inuyasha?" Sango said as she came riding up on Kirara. She stopped when she saw the gem in his hand. When Miroku arrived a few seconds later and asked the same question Sango simply pointed at Inuyasha's hand. It was several more seconds before anyone could think of anything to say. 

"Well Shippo appears you were right, it was another glowing gem." Miroku said at last. 

"I knew it! You just don't pay enough attention to me." Shippo said looking smug. His expression annoyed Inuyasha and the fox-kit ended up with several large bumps on his head. 

"Shut up! It's not like Kagome's at all!" 

"Yes it is Inuyasha!" Kagome said as she took the pearl out of her pouch. "See?" However once her pearl began to glow the one in Inuyasha's hand glowed a little brighter and began to pulse. Before Inuyasha could do anything else Kagome's gem began to pulse in time with Inuyasha's. 

"So the gems recognize each other?" Sango said surprised. "Does this mean that they were part of a set?" 

"Well whatever they were" Inuyasha said as he threw the ruby to the ground "I don't want to have anything to do with them. My life complicated enough with out throwing in glowing jewels." 

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded as she picked the gem up. "You can't just throw it away like that!" 

"Who's going to care what happens to it?" He asked her.

"What if a demon picked this up and figured out how to use it? It could kill a lot of people!" 

"Then I would just waste the bastard when I caught up to him!" Kagome sighed in exasperation

"Then I'll keep it until your grown up enough to handle it!" She stated. 

"What do you mean by "grown up enough to handle it" wench?" 

"I'm mean your to immature to be able to figure out how to use it Inuyasha!" 

"WHAT!? Why you…..!" A sharp pain on Inuyasha's neck cause him to swat at whatever had bit him. He took down his hand and noted with some surprise the pest that had bit him. "Hmmm….Myoga what are you doing here?" A moment later the flea and popped up and bowed to Inuyasha. 

"Greetings Lord Inuyasha, I was simply in the neighborhood and decided to check up on you." He said.

"Check up on me!? I'm not some damn little kid that needs a baby sitter!" Inuyasha shouted at the flea. Myoga glanced around nervously, he had missed the conversation that Kagome and Inuyasha were having before he showed up.

"Myoga?" Kagome asked "Do you know what these are?" The flea turned to consider the jewels that Kagome held in her outstretched hand. 

"Those? Hmmm…they appear to be jewels of unusual size and color. A ruby and a pearl I bel..Urph!" Inuyasha grabbed him between two fingers and began to squeeze mercilessly. 

"She means she want's to know why the keep glowing." He said. The flea squirmed uncomfortable.

"G..glowing?" He looked over again and saw the soft light the pearl was giving off. "Oh, glowing right." He managed to squirm out of Inuyasha's grasp and jumped over to Kagome's hand. 

"Hm…Ah…Oh….Hm" He muttered as he walked around them, finally he jumped and cried out "Ah ha!" 

"You know what it is?" Kagome asked excitedly. 

"No, I have absolutely no clue what so ever." He said.

"Then what did you cry out Ah ha for?" An annoyed Inuyasha asked. 

"Because I have discovered that these gems hold a lot of power in them!" He declared triumphantly. 

"Are you sure?" Miroku asked 

"I am positive! You see there is no creature that know more about power hidden beneath the surface then I, Myoga the flea!"

"Yeah, because you happen to a blood sucker." Inuyasha snorted underneath his breath. 

"My lord, your unkind words wound me!" 

"Yeah right!" Inuyasha said as he turned and walked off. "Anyway let's go, I want to find out were that demon was heading!" 

"Fine Inuyasha!" Kagome said as she returned her pearl to the pouch. After a moments hesitation she dropped in the ruby as well. 

A few hours later the group continued down the path that had lead from the village. After glancing around Miroku sighed and walked up to Inuyasha. 

"We have been following the path for three hours Inuyasha, I don't think there's anything in this direction. We should return to the village and rest." 

"Yeah, Yeah." Inuyasha muttered. 

"Since we left the village you have been noticeably subdued. Is it because tonight is the new moon?" 

"Shut up stupid monk!" Inuyasha shouted, "That has nothing to do with it!" 

"Inuyasha?" The half-demon looked over to where Kagome had gone very still. 

"What is it Kagome?" Inuyasha asked as he walked over to stand next to her. 

"I…I sense a jewel shard near by. It's really close but I'm having trouble telling exactly were it is." 

"Near by huh?" Inuyasha stated as he drew Tetsusagia. "It can't be too hard to find then." Suddenly Inuyasha's ears perked up and he froze then grabbed Kagome and jumped out of the way just as a giant tree crashed down right were they had been standing. 

"What the hell?" He muttered and looked up at the demon that had thrown the tree. It's body looked almost like that of a giant human but it was covered in dense brown fur and had talons on each of it's fingers. It also bore the head of a giant bull. 

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango shouted and hurled the boomerang at the demon. It looked up and grunted before bringing up it's arm and knocking the Hiraikotsu off course with it's talons. 

"What in the?" The demon slayer stammered out before the demon lowered it's head and charged at them. Kagome ran to the left and Inuyasha jumped off to the right and the demon ran right between them. The demon ran right into a tree and game a growl of annoyance as it's horns were imbedded in the wood. 

"Another idiot demon?" Inuyasha snorted as he jumped up with Tetsusagia. "This will be too easy!" Inuyasha started to swing the sword down in a strike that would have cut the demon in half but the demon gave a twist of it's neck and ripped the tree out by it's root and sent it flying into Inuyasha. It caught the half-demon in mid-jump and sent him flying backwards. 

"Dammit!" 

Meanwhile Kagome had drawn an arrow and was currently sitting with it to her bowstring as she waited for the demon to stop moving for even an instant. _If I can just hi the jewel shard then I should be able to at least weaken it! _She thought. A buzzing sound interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to see a few extremely large wasps hovering over the battlefield. _Aren't those Naraku's insects?_ She thought almost panicking. _Then that must mean he's the one controlling this demon! We have to get the shard quickly!_ She drew back her bow and let the arrow fly, she didn't notice that the pearl had begun to glow through the material of the pouch. Just before the arrow would have hit it's target the demon turned slightly and the arrow hit it's shoulder, blowing a hole in it and rendering it's arm useless. It gave a below of rage and turned from were Inuyasha was pinned under the log that it had thrown to fasten it's eyes on the girl holding the bow. Before anyone could react the demon charged forward and swung it's uninjured hand at Kagome, the deadly talons set to rip her to shreds. Several things happened at once after that: Kagome shut her eyes and jumped backwards in an attempt to dodge the demons attack, Inuyasha shouted out her name and the pearl burst into bright light that covered Kagome completely. 

When Kagome opened her eyes again she was confused at first, the last thing she had saw was the demon coming straight at her to attack but now she was looking down at the demon. _Is it over_ she wondered _did it kill me? _Kagome thought starting to panic _Am I dead!?_

"K..Kagome?" Inuyasha stammered from below her. Kagome looked down and saw the everyone, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, even Kirara were staring at her open mouthed. Embarrassed Kagome looked down wondering what they were staring at, then she caught sight of her hands and let out a piercing scream!

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Plantress: There chapter two is done! I know I changed the title of the chapter but I thought this one fitted better. Anyway first things first: I want to thank my one reviewer, I'm glad you liked it! Anyway as before please Read and Review so I know people like this! Please and thank you. 

Next Time: **Chapter Three: Power of Light!**


	3. Power of Light

I do not won Inuyasha or Legend of Dragoon. The only things that I own are the plot line for this story and any original characters. 

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Dragoons of the Sacred Jewel

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Chapter Three: Power of Light

Kagome looked own and let out a piercing scream that rang throughout the clearing, some how her hand had been turned silver! Then the practical part of her mind woke up and she blinked. _Wait, silver? But I can feel my hand, it's like I'm wearing a glove or something, but it feels almost like metal._ Kagome looked at her hand again and studied it more carefully this time., the silver was more of a silver glove or gauntlet that stopped at her elbow, with designs that ran up and down over the metal, she noticed that her other arm also now had a gauntlet as well. She looked down and noted with surprise that metal plates had formed over hers skirt, making it more armor then fabric now. The silver armor covered the rest of her from her waist up, it stopped over her shoulders and formed shoulder guards. The shoulder guards and several other parts of the armor had delicate designs that looked green almost. On a hunch she looked down at her feet and saw that silver armor covered her shoes and had went all the way up to her knees. She had been carrying her bow when she jumped and now it was covered with the same sort of silver as her armor, it even had green designs running up and down it! The bow had also grown thicker and looked much more deadly then it had before. She could also feel something resting on her forehead, probably a headband of some sort. _Okay, so I'm not dead, I just happened to be hovering in mid-air dressed in a suit of armor I haven't even seen before….. _ She blinked as she realized something _That's right, I'm flying, or at least hovering. How can I fly in armor?_ With a sinking suspicion she glanced behind her and jumped, an action that only caused her to go higher in the air, because a pair of wings now sprouted from the back of the chest plate, silver edged and with ribs made of with silver but the spaces in-between the ribs were filled with some kind of substance that seemed to be shimmer with the colors of the rainbow. 

"Wha…what happened to me?" Kagome managed to stammer out at last. 

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"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried out when the demon lunged at her. After the flash went off he was blinded for a couple seconds. Those seconds were an eternity to the him, he wanted to know if the had demon had actually gotten Kagome. He was surprised at the pain that thinking of her dying brought, but then his eyes sight cleared and he looked over to were Kagome had been standing. The sight of the demon crouched there seemed to confirm his worst fear and he gripped the Tetsugia tight to stem the pain and growled as he prepared to strike the demon in vengeance….but then noticed that the sent of Kagome's blood wasn't there and her own sweet scent was higher up. He looked up to where her scent was coming from and stared.

"K…Kagome?" He manage to stammer out. The girl looked up at him and everyone else then blushed and looked down. He saw her eyes go wide and she let out a piercing scream that hurt his ears. Still it let him know that she was alright, now he just stared at her trying make sense of what had just happened. The armor it self was giving off a scent similar to the pearl that Kagome was carrying but mixed in with that was a scent that was making him uncomfortable. It was familiar but in a bad sense, as if he had had a bad experience with it in the past. _ Is it the scent of the demon that had it in the first place? _He wondered _No, its different then that. And it's definitely not Naraku's scent, I would have recognize it. Dammit! I know I've smelled it before, but where!?_

"Lord Inuyasha!" A voice said. Inuyasha looked over to find Myoga sitting on his shoulder.

"My Lord, did not I tell you that the gems contained great power." The flea said looking pleased with himself. 

"Don't let it go to you head." Inuyasha blinked and then looked at the flea. "What are you doing in here anyway? You usually split the moment things get rough."

"You have very little fate in me my lord." The flea grumbled but then noticed that Inuyasha was no longer paying attention to him. Instead Inuyasha was staring at the demon. Apparently it had gotten confused when it didn't find blood on it's claws and was now searching the ground were Kagome had used to be.

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Meanwhile while Kagome was inspecting her new armor Sango was looking up at her friend with a mixture of awe and wonder. She had no idea what had happened to Kagome but she was thankful for what ever had happened because it had gotten her out of danger just in time. The demon's strike had hit the exact same area Kagome had been standing in moments before and the demon it self was now looking around, it's small brain unable to realize what had happened to its' target. 

"That's armor, _flying_ armor." She muttered to Miroku. The monk was standing next to her but all she got was a mumbled um-hum in reply. Curious she glanced over at saw Miroku looking up with a dreamy on his face. Sango followed his gaze to try and see what had so attracted his attention then stopped and glared at him. Kagome was wearing armor but she was also wearing the same short skirt that she always did and that meant that Miroku had an unobstructed view when ever a flab of her wings would cause the skirt to bob up a little higher then normal. 

"Pervert!" Sango hissed as ground her heel into his foot. He winced in pain and then tore his gaze away and looked at her.

"Ouch! Sorry did you say something Sango?" He asked as he rubbed his foot. 

"Yes!" She snapped as she glared at him. "I said: Quit looking up Kagome's skirt you perverted monk!" 

"Is that what you think I was doing?" He said innocently. "I was simply examining the armor that she is wearing." 

"Yeah right." Sango muttered under her breath before she glanced up once again. "But that armor is flying. Even with wings a almost full set of armor should be too heavy to fly." 

"But this armor appears to have come from the gem Kagome was carrying. It gave off the same light as the pearl did when Kagome first touched it. And the armor it self is of a style I haven't seen before, have you Sango?" 

"No I haven't. I haven't heard of anything like it before either." 

"Neither have I," Miroku said as he looked back up at Kagome "neither have I" 

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Inuyasha readied Tetsugia and let a smirk twist in his lips. The demons back was the perfected target for the cutting wind. Suddenly the demon, apparently having given up on finding Kagome, turned and lurched toward Miroku and Sango, it's talons missing them by mere inches as they dived out of the way.

"Dammit!" Inuyasha cursed as he started toward them. With the demon after Sango and Miroku he couldn't use the wind scar with out risking injury to his friends. _At least Kagome is safe. _ He thought as he ran toward the battle.

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Up in the air Kagome watched helplessly as her friends dodged the demon's blows. Sango couldn't use the Hiraikotsu because it was laying at least thirty feet away were the demon's blow had set it. Miroku couldn't use his wind tunnel because some of Naraku's insects were still hovering about the clearing. _Could I fly over and get the Hiraikotsu and get it to Sango. No there's no time, oh what good is flying if you can't DO anything!?_ She thought wildly as she tried to figure out a way to help her friends. The sight of Inuyasha racing into battle relived her a little bit. _Inuyasha will take care of the demon, then we can try and figure out what happened to me_. 

Inuyasha charged in on the demons wounded side as started to strike, but at the last second the demon reversed the strike and instead of hitting Miroku with it's talons it back handed Inuyasha across the clearing. 

Kagome hovered up in the air chewing her lip anxiously as she watched her friends fight. _I have to do something…. _She glanced down and remembered she still held her bow. _ That's right! Maybe if I hit it with one of my arrows it will be distracted long enough for the others to kill. I should be safe, I can't reach up here. At least I hope it can't._ She reached back to her quiver but all she found was the base of her wings. She felt frantically around for a couple seconds before she realized that her quiver wasn't on her back. _Where did it go!? _ She thought as she glanced around frantically. She couldn't see the quiver on the ground, nor was she carrying it anymore. _What in the hell happened to it? I mean arrows don't just disappear!_ In a reflex action she dropped her fingers to her bow string and began to run her fingers along it. _I wish there was something I could do…. What?_ She stopped and stared at her transformed bow. For a second as she had her hand over the string she had felt a small tingle in her hand, almost like her when her hand would fall asleep. Slowly she ran her fingers over the string again until she felt the tingle and then stopped and looked. A faint line of soft line of yellow light now ran from her finger to the center of the bow, it was positioned exactly she would lay an arrow, if she had one that is. _I wonder _She thought and drew back the bow as if preparing to fire, almost immediately the light seemed to solidify and took the shape of an arrow…. made of light. _An arrow of light_? She thought as she looked at it. _Well I guess I've seen stranger things, and besides I have to do something._

"Hey you!" She yelled down at the demon as she drew back her bow as far as she was able. The demon swung it's head around and looked at her. 

"Eat this!" And Kagome released the bow. The arrow hit right on target, the demon bellowed in pain, and an explosion rocked the clearing. A light, almost as bright as when Kagome transformed, filled the clearing and everyone threw up their arms to shield their eyes. The light faded in time for everyone to see the skeleton of the demon collapse into a pile of bones upon the ground. Kagome stared at it for a moment before she fully realized what had happened. 

"I…..killed it?" She said stunned "I actually killed it?" _Guess that show Inuyasha who's weak!_ She muttered under her breath. Suddenly light began to seep from the breaks in her armor, Kagome paused in and looked down trying to figure out what was happening now. The light grew brighter then flashed and rushed back into a pearl, taking the armor with it and leaving her in normal clothes falling through the air! She started to scream but stopped abruptly as she landed in Inuyasha's arms. The half-demon landed on the ground gently and set her down.

"Are you alright Kagome?" He asked her. 

__

He's actually worried about me? Kagome thought as her heart skipped a beat. "I'm fine Inuyasha." She said quietly. 

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, it didn't actually hit me at all."

"Kagome!" Sango called as she ran up, the Hiraikotsu slung over her shoulder once again. Her friend looked as if she wanted to say something to Kagome but was stopped by Miroku's call. 

"The Jewel Shard!" He yelled and pointed over toward where it had fallen. One of Naraku's insects had swooped down and grabbed it. 

"Dammit! We can't let him have that back!" Inuyasha yelled as he jumped up and slashed at it. His attack struck home and the insect fell in several pieces to the ground. Several other insects made a grab at the jewel but a whirlingHiraikotsu struck before they could and the shard feel to the ground. Sango grabbed the shard before any of the other insects could pick it up, they hung in the air over Sango's head buzzing angrily. However before Sango could throw the Hiraikotsu once more Inuyasha shredded most of the Insects, the last few flew off into the sky. 

"Go tell Naraku that!" Inuyasha said as he shook his fist at the retreating insects. Miroku sighed and brought the handle of his staff down hard on Inuyasha's head. 

"OW! What in the hell was that for!?" The enraged half-demon asked as he glared at the monk. 

"You were acting childish over a small victory Inuyasha." Miroku answered 

"So? We stole a jewel shard from Naraku! That's one less that he can use against us." Inuyasha shot back annoyed.

"But he still has many more that he can use against us." Miroku pointed out.

"Well we still have one." Inuyasha muttered under his breath. 

"Once that's partially purified." Sango said as she walked over holding the shard.

"Even thought it was being used for one of Naraku's evil purposes it still hasn't totally been twisted for evil purposes." 

"Actually, I'm not totally surprised, the massive power that was required to purify a demon this large," Miroku said as he glanced over to were the bones were laying "could have easily purified at least part of the jewel shard." 

"But I didn't even do anything to it! I just hit it with an arrow…." Kagome said.

"Your arrows have always been able to purify demons, maybe the armor just enhanced them." Miroku said

"Speaking of armor…. Do you still have the pearl Kagome?" Sango asked her friend.

"Yeah, right here." Kagome replied as she reached toward the pouch that held the gems. Suddenly she stopped and then grabbed something and pulled out wide-eyed. It was the pearl, but now it was suspended on a chain made from silvery metal like that of Kagome's armor. 

"What?" Sango leaned over for a closer look at the chain. 

"When did you get that?" She asked

"Just now." Kagome replied.

"So that pearl does more then just create armor." Miroku said as he looked at it. 

"I wonder if the gem that Inuyasha found has similar powers?" 

"I don't know. But my gem isn't glowing any more." Kagome said as she looked at the pearl frowning. 

"What?" Everyone leaned over and looked at it. The glow was gone from the pear and only a faint light seemed to come from it. 

"Was the power all used up that one time?" Sango asked. 

"Maybe." Miroku said as he looked at it. "At any rate we should get going if we want to get back to the village before dark." 

"Wait! I forgot about Shippo, he was standing right next to me when the demon attacked." Kagome said as she looked around frantically. 

"Don't worry about him, he's up there." Inuyasha said as he jerked a thumb over to the tree that Kagome had been standing under when the demon attacked. Kagome immediately ran over to it and peered up underneath it's branches. 

"Shippo?" She called up anxiously. 

"I'm right here Kagome." Shippo said as he appeared crawled out on to a branch over Kagome's head. The small fox-demon jumped down and Kagome caught him in her arms. 

"I saw the whole thing Kagome, you were great!" 

"Thanks Shippo." She said and smiled at him.

"If your done, can we go?" Inuyasha said in impatiently. 

"Fine. Come on Shippo, lets go." Kagome said and then ran to catch up to her friends. 

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A few minuets after the group had left, a bright red ball flew into the pile of bone and exploded leaving a crater behind. 

"Dammit!" A voice rang out as a figure jumped from a tree only few feet away from the one Shippo had been hiding in. He landed lightly one his feet and then began to walk toward the crater, kicking at the bones that had been thrown around by his blast. 

The figure wore brown boots, and brown pants with a dark green shirt. Slightly long silver hair was brushed back from his unnatural red eyes.

"Dammit!" He cursed again and kicked a piece of bone as hard as he could sending it flying across the clearing. 

When the report had come in that someone had found the Dragoon Spirit of Light the King had been alarmed and had immediately ordered Meru to go out and see if the rumors were true. Typically Meru had been unwilling to do anything that might but her in harms way and had order him, a low ranking scout, to do the dirty work for her. 

The wingly kicked once more at the ground then spread of his wings of light and took flight. Fifty feet in the air he stopped and began a soft chant, a few seconds after he completed it a soft green light surrounded him, and when it cleared he was no longer in the clearing.

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"Are you sure about this?" The King asked him worriedly.

"Absolutely sure Your Majesty." The wingly said bowing. "I saw her transform." 

"So the human girl has successfully begun to control the dragoon spirit?" 

"I'm afraid so sire, but from the reactions of her and her companions, I can assume that they don't know what they carry." 

"Has the other dragoon spirit awakened yet?" The king asked.

"No your majesty. In fact the half-breed Inuyasha refuses to carry the spirit with him, he leaves it in the care of the Silver Dragoon." 

"That is at least a small piece of good news." The King sighed as he leaned backwards. "But we still must deal with the girl."

"If we were to send a few soldiers we should be able to capture her and take the Spirits without too much trouble." The wingly said as he stood up.

"I _really_ wouldn't advise that." A female voice purred. A wingly walked up in a collection of blue silks that while meant to me modest, kept "accidentally" snagging or swirling around to show off various aspect of her body. 

"You see according to information I have gathered this Inuyasha is a formidable foe even with out the power of his Spirit, and he doesn't seem to take kindly to threats against his friends. You plan might work Lloyd but you would probably lose a few soldiers, and we can't afford that with our numbers so low."

"So what would you do then?" Lloyd shoot back at her.

"I would wait. My information shows that Inuyasha has a foe named Naraku that is currently after his life. If we wait they might just kill each other off and we can come in and get the Spirits after they are both dead." 

"And what if Inuyasha manages to kill Naraku? Or what if Naraku kills him? Then we have a new stronger, person in possession of the Spirits! We should deal with this problem now!" 

"What do you think sire?" Meru purred as she walked over and laid a hand on the King's arm. "Should we attack now foolishly waste the lives of people that we cannot spare or wait and see if we can get the Spirits with minimal fuss?" 

"You are right, we should wait." The King said as Meru flashed a smile at him. "I understand you concern Lloyd but we cannot waste lives on some fools errand." As the King turned his head to speak to a someone who had appeared on his other side Meru stuck her tongue out at Lloyd. The wingly shook with fury as he stared back at her triumphant eyes. He knew that if he had done some thing so childish to her the King would have berated him in front of the whole court, but he didn't say anything to Meru, he always let her get away with such ridiculous behavior. Unable to stand it any longer Lloyd turned on his heel and stalked toward the open door. _Fine, wait. Wait and let the girl Kagome understand the full potential of what she carries. Let Inuyasha wake his Spirit, let the other Dragoons begin to join with them. They will just destroy us like they tried to do before._

Dimly from behind him Lloyd hear the King shout at him to come back but he ignored him. He wasn't going to stay just so Meru could humiliate him even more. With a last heated look back at the succumbus standing by the throne, he slammed the door shut and stalked off. 

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Plantress: Finally it's up! I wanted to post this yesterday but I ran into writers block. I want to thank everyone who bothered to review this, it really means a lot and helps me keep writing. Anyway theres a couple of things before I go:

1.As some people might have noticed I took some liberties with the Dragoon attacks. I'm trying to keep in with attacks that correspond with the abilities of the character that is using that Spirit so I probably won't use any of the original attacks from the game in this fic.

2. Just in case someone hasn't noticed: The Lloyd and Meru that I mentioned in the story are not, I repeat are not the characters from the game. They are Original characters but I happened to like the names Lloyd and Meru so I named them after them that's all. 

Well that's it now R & R so I update faster. Please and Thank you.

Next time: **Chapter Four: The Two Evils**


	4. The Two Evils

I do not own Inuyasha or Legend of Dragoon.

~*~*~….shows scene changes or when the POV switches.

I am so sorry for the long wait, so to make it up to you here is the longest chapter in Dragoons of the Sacred Jewel yet!

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Dragoons of the Sacred Jewel

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Chapter Four: The Two Evils

"And then there was a flash of light and when it faded Kagome had on this silver armor, and it had wings!" Shippo exclaimed as he hopped around Kaede's hut. Since the group had returned to the hut, shortly before nightfall, the little fox-demon had been telling Kaede what had happened in the clearing complete with movements and sounds. "And when Kagome fired an arrow at the demon it glowed, and it hit the demon right in it's head like this!" To illustrate his words Shippo jumped and smacked the now human Inuyasha on the head. Inuyasha rubbed the spot were Shippo had hit and glared at him. 

"You had better stop that runt." He growled threateningly.

"What can you do to me? Your human now." Shippo taunted. Inuyasha glared at him and stood up.

"You forget I'm still a lot bigger then you, runt." He growled and lunged toward Shippo. The little fox squeaked and race around the edge of the hut with Inuyasha in pursuit. Shippo ran over to Kagome and jumped into her arms. 

"Kagome Inuyasha's being mean to me again." He whined, his eyes big as he tried his hardest to look pitiful. 

"Inuyasha you should be nicer to Shippo, he is younger then you after all." She scolded in a half hearted way. Inuyasha stopped and looked at her for a moment. Ever since they had gotten back from the fight she had seem distracted by something. The half-demon frowned and plopped down on the ground next to Kagome.

"What in the hell is the matter with you wench, you've been staring at the jewel all night!" He asked as he glared at the small pearl. 

"Hmm excuse me, what were you saying?" Kagome said finally looking up at him. Inuyasha glared at her for a second.

"I'm asking you why in the hell you keep staring at that stupid thing!" He growled. 

"I'm trying to figure out how it works." 

"And your going to do that by staring at it?" Inuyasha asked as he gave her and odd look.

"Well I might be able too!" Kagome replied blushing slightly. 

"Yeah and Naraku might just waltz up and give us the rest of the shards." 

"Well at least I'm doing something constructive and not sitting around and picking on everyone because I happen to in a bad mood!" 

"Why would I be in a good mood!? I'm stuck in this weak human body until tomorrow, of course I'm going to be in a bad mood!"

"That doesn't give you the right to take it out on everyone else Inuyasha!" 

"Feh, stupid girl!" 

"Quit being a jerk Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled over at him.

"Who says I have to!?" Inuyasha barked back at her.

Sango and Miroku, sitting on the opposite side of the hut, were watching the exchange with some interest. 

"At least Kagome and Inuyasha are acting normal now." Sango comment. Miroku nodded then reached over to Sango.

"Speaking of acting normal Sango…" He said as he let his hand roam… 

"PERVERT!" The sharp sound of a slap pulled both Kagome and Inuyasha out of their argument. They looked up to see a very angry Sango on her feet and Miroku, still sitting, rubbing a red mark on his face.

"Was that really necessary Sango?" He asked in an innocent tone. Sango glared at him before she walked around to the other side of the hut. She sat down next to Kagome and continued to glare at him. 

"Perverted Monk." She said under her breath. 

"I guess that answers my question" Miroku mumbled. 

"What did he do this time?" Kagome asked Sango.

"What do you think?" Sango snapped in reply. Kagome winced and nodded. Inuyasha however scooted away from the angry demon slayer. 

"If ye were not so intent on bickering then ye could see what possibilities the power the Kagome now wields has.?" Kaede said as she hobbled over to the fire. 

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked her. 

"My sister labored for years to purify the Jewel of the Four Souls when it was given to her, but she was only able to turn a small portion of it to full good, and yet ye have managed to do my sisters work in a second." 

"But that was only one shard!" Kagome protested. 

"But what can be done to a shard of the Jewel can be done to it as a whole, I am not correct?" Kaede countered. 

"But I don't even know how to use this thing, how can I purify the rest of the shards if I can't use it?" 

"Ye must discover how it works then, it may be able to help ye in your quest for the shards of the sacred Jewel." Suddenly one of the village woman poked her head into the hut. 

"Lady Kaede?" She called out softly.

"I must go for now, but ye think on what I have said Kagome." With those last few words Kaede exited the hut.

"But if I don't even know what I did in the first place, so how can I do it again?" Kagome muttered as Kaede left. Unfortunately even as a human Inuyasha had exceptional hearing.

"Would you quit whining?" He snapped at her. Kagome looked up and glared at him.

"Can't you be even a little sympathetic Inuyasha!?" She yelled at him. Inuyasha gulped and then went to sit on the other side of Sango, putting the demon slayer between him and the now angry Kagome. Sango then sighed and walked over to the other side of the fire, more willing to risk sitting next to Miroku then be caught in a fight between Inuyasha and Kagome. Shippo looked around and then quickly followed Sango.

"Can you to stop fighting for even a few minuets?" Miroku asked. When he received glares from both of the combatants he changed the subject.

"Inuyasha, didn't you receive a gem like Kagome's?" 

"Huh? Oh you mean that red thing I found when we fought that demon today?" Inuyasha said. 

"Yes Inuyasha, that red thing you found when we fought the demon." Miroku answered with a sigh.

"You have it don't you Kagome?" Inuyasha asked her. Kagome nodded in his direction.

"I said I would keep if you wouldn't didn't I?" She answered and pulled out the pouch that she had been keeping her pearl in. "It's in here." 

"Then give it here." Inuyasha stated and stuck out his hand. 

"Say please Inuyasha." 

"Who says I have to?" The half-demon taunted and tried to grab the pouch but Kagome pulled it out of his reach.

"Quit grabbing at things!" She scolded. "It's not polite!"

"So?" He snapped and then lunged toward the jewel. "JUST GIVE IT HERE!"

"STOP THAT!" Kagome shrieked and pulled the pouch back. Inuyasha missed the pouch but kept going and ended up sprawling across Kagome's lap. Everyone froze and the hut grew deathly quite for a few seconds as everyone looked over at them. Miroku was the first one to break the silence

"If you wish us to leave Inuyasha you only have to ask.." He said grinning wickedly.

"Sh…shut up!" Inuyasha stammer out as he got up. Kagome just looked down, blushing hard. "Just give me the jewel Kagome." 

"Fine Inuyasha, but don't be so rude next time." She mumbled as she handed him the ruby. The moment Inuyasha touched it the jewel began to glow softly. The pearl, still hanging on it's chain around Kagome's neck, glowed brighter for a second. Inuyasha shrugged and put the ruby away for a second. He and Kagome tried not to look at each other, gazing in different directions and blushing furiously. The others looked on unsure how to break the new silence with out provoking another fight. When Kaede returned she took one look and let out a sigh.

"What have ye done this time Inuyasha?" She asked him.

"Nothing." The he snapped in reply. 

"I'm going to bed." Kagome said quickly. 

"Good idea." Sango agreed and nodded. 

"I believe I shall retire as well." Miroku said. 

"Feh, Fine." Inuyasha said as everyone started to settle down for the night.

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Later, after everyone was a sleep, Inuyasha got quietly to his feet and padded over to where Kagome was sleep. He stood for several moments watching her breath before he sat down and leaned against the wall next to her. He watched Kagome for several more moments before he closed his eyes and went to sleep himself. 

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The next morning after everyone had eaten, they left the village. 

"If we go in the direction that the demon we fought yesterday is from, then we might be able to find out if it has attacked any other villages." Miroku said as they started on their way.

"What do you think I was trying to do yesterday!?" Inuyasha demanded furiously. "But everyone kept insisting that there was nothing in that direction and we should go back to the village!" 

"Would you rather have spent the night of the new moon outside?" 

"……." Inuyasha just looked off to the side. 

At noon Kagome stopped her bike in order to catch her breath, but Inuyasha had gone forward a few feet before he realized that she had stopped and turned around. 

"Why in the hell did you stop?" He asked her, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Because I need to rest Inuyasha!" She snapped back in reply. "We've been walking all day, can't we take a break for a few minuets?" 

"Yeah, and I'm getting hungry, it's almost lunch time!" Shippo piped up. 

"Be quite!" Inuyasha snapped at Shippo. But before he could continue something slammed into the ground in front of the group sending up cloud of dust. Instinctively Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and jumped backwards, making sure that she was out of harms way. Only after he was sure that Kagome was safe did he look. Standing a little ways back from the settling rubble was Kagura, a slight smirk on her face as she looked upon the damage she had caused. However it was the figure standing right behind the wind user that cause Inuyasha to growl deep in his throat and draw Tetsusagia almost automatically and had everyone else in the group on the defensive, a very familiar figure in a white baboon suit. 

"Naraku!" Inuyasha growled and drew Tetsusagia. Miroku tightened his grip on his staff, meanwhile Kirara transformed and Sango reached over and grabbed Hirakotus strap, reading it to throw at a moment's notice. 

"Surprised to see me Inuyasha ?" Naraku's tone was sarcastic to the extreme. "You stole something from me…." 

"Stole!?" Kagome said furiously " Most the shards where stolen from us in the first place!" 

"Be quiet Kagome!" Inuyasha snapped back at her. He felt uneasy about this whole thing. Something in the air made his hair feel like standing on end. This whole thing felt familiar, almost too familiar. Something clicked in his mind and he glanced over at Kagome. "Do you sense any Jewel Shards on him?" If Naraku was carrying the Jewel Shards then why hadn't Kagome sensed them earlier? 

A look of shock crossed over Kagome's face as she shook her head. "He doesn't have any Jewel Shards! B..but that would mean that that's….."

"Another demon puppet." Sango finished for her. 

"Another one!?" Inuyasha turned toward it angrily "When are going to quit hiding and actually face us yourself? Or are you just too scared to?" 

"Why would I be scared of a simple half-breed like yourself?" Naraku's sneering voice answered. "I simply don't see the point of fighting you, when this puppet can kill just as easily!" As it finished speaking it seemed to explode sending it's root like tentacles at the half-demon. Inuyasha tried to jump at the main body of the puppet but as he left the ground several other tentacles grabbed his ankles and pulled him back down. With a growl he pulled back his hand and swung in an effort to free himself with his claws.

"Inuyasha, they're behind you!" He stopped at the sound of Kagome's voice and then stopped and stared. While he had been fighting the puppet had sent root around behind, and had formed a twisting fence that effectively cut him off from his friends. 

"Huh, Did you think that would scare me?" He tightened his grip on his sword and tensed his legs to jump. "I'll just slice _you_ in half right now!" The half demon started forward but was forced to jump backwards as several of Kagura's Wind Blades slammed into the ground in front of him. 

"You really shouldn't be sacred for yourself Inuyasha." She said, hiding a smile behind her fan.

"What in the hell do you mean?" Inuyasha asked as he narrowed his eyes at her. Something about her superior tones was bothering him.

"This!" She shouted as dozens of demons exploded from the woods and went straight for the rest of the group! 

"Damn it!" He cursed and tried to jump over the root wall, forgetting the roots that were still attached to his ankles. He was reminded quite forcefully when he was jerked back down and then forced to roll aside to avoid more of Kaguras Wind Blades. Inuyasha tired to sever the roots that where preventing him from reaching his friends, but each time he moved down either the Naraku puppet would send more of it's tentacles out or Kagura would rain down her wind blades. _Damn it! _Inuyasha thought _I have to get out there and help Kagome!_

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The demon battle wasn't going to well either. Miroku was stuck using his staff and spiritual powers to keep the demon's back. He couldn't use his wind tunnel because of the poison insects, besides his friends were so close to the demons even if he could use the Wind Tunnel, someone would be sucked up as well.

Things weren't going that well for Sango either. She had managed get Hirakotus off a few times, and each time being extremely careful were she threw it. If she threw to her left or right and her aim was even a little off then it would hit Kagome or Miroku. If she threw it straight ahead then she ran the risk of hitting Inuyasha. Grinding her teeth in frustration the demon slayer used her weapon to decapitate nearest demon. Next to her Kirara attacked anything that came near her or her master. Sango looked and leveled a glare at the puppet Naraku. _He knew we where coming this way, so he set everything up. But why would he go through all this trouble just to get the few Jewel Shards we have? He has most of them already and hasn't done anything like this before, so what does he want?_ Another wave of demons attacked and Sango didn't have anymore time for thinking. 

Kagome was standing in front of Shippo, her back to a tree, firing her arrows at any demon that came near. Most of the demons where focusing on the more dangerous opponents so she had the little fox demon were left mostly alone. _ I hope Inuyasha's okay…. I wish I could see what was going on in there…_ Kagome looked over at the wall of roots that separated them and toyed with the idea of firing one of her arrows at it but was stopped by Shippo's voice.

"Ka..kagome!" She felt the little fox demon trembling. She looked up, curious as to what could cause him to be so frightened, and saw to her horror that one of the larger demons had pealed away from the main pack and was heading straight toward them! She reached down for an arrow…and found that she was down to her last one. 

"Then I'll just have to make this one count." She muttered and then swallowed to try and get some moisture back in to her dry mouth. She raised her bow and took aim at the demon. 

"There's another one Kagome!" At the cry Kagome jerked her head in the direction Shippo was pointed and instinctively released the arrow at the demon that was almost close enough for them to touch. It dissolved when the arrow touched it but left the girl and little fox demon defenseless against the other, larger demon. Seeing her unarmed the creature speed up, and Kagome shrank back against the tree, hold her bow out in front of her in a feeble defense. 

"Inuyasha." She whispered, eyes locked on the demons. _ I could really use your help right about now…_ At that moment Sango looked up and saw her friend in danger.

"KAGOME!" 

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Inuyasha dodged another strike and cut the root off, only to have two more lunge out at him. He dodged one but felt the other grazed the side of his face. He was limited by the tangled roots on his ankles and already had many small cuts and scratches. Kagura had settled back now and wasn't really doing anything, only attacking whenever he tried to launch and attack at the body of the puppet. He raised his sword for another strike, when Sango's voice rang out across the noise of the battle.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha automatically looked over to were he had last seen her standing. He tensed expecting to be hit, but instead of attack roots shifted, allowing him to see the battle outside, and he understood why. Kagome was about to be killed by a demon!

"And there's nothing you can do about it Inuyasha!" Kagura's said, almost as if she was reading his mind. Inuyasha just stood their staring. _Dammit she doesn't stand a chance against something of that size! And the others can't do anything! _His grip on Tetsusagia tightened and his hand began to shake. _That's it, I don't care what happens to me, but I'm not going to let Kagome die!_ And he jumped forward, prepared to sacrifice everything.

The jewel that he had forgotten about seemed to react to his feelings and burst into bright red light., and for a brief second it looked like a sheet of flame was covering the half-demon. The puppet jerked backward as the roots holding Inuyasha down, snapped as they were burned with fire. However Inuyasha was so focused on Kagome that he didn't notice anything around him as he tore his way throughout the wall that hastily shifted to try and block his way.

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Kagome backed up against the tree, Shippo in her arms as she started at the demon. She knew that there was no way that she could out run it and her friends were too far away to help her. She had tried to get her jewel to activate but it was barely glowing and she didn't even know how she had activated it in the first place. The demon was almost on her now and Kagome leaned back and closed her eyes, not wanting to see her death coming at her. Suddenly she heard someone shout and then the demon gave out a death cry. Slowly the young woman opened her eyes.

"Are you alright Kagome?" Kagome looked up and blinked several times.

"Inuyasha?" She asked tentatively staring at him.

"What?" The half-demon demanded then looked down. "What in the….!" Like before, when Kagome's jewel had activate, armor now covered him, but this armor was vastly different from hers. Dark red armor almost completely covered him, rising up from head to foot, but the gauntlets had no armor on the fingers, allowing Inuyasha's own formidable claws to show through. Two things however remained the same for both, the head band the faintly showed through Inuyasha's silver bangs had small green jewels impeded in it, as did the whole armor. Also like Kagome's a pair of wings rose from the armors back, with rainbow colors dancing across them. 

"Your jewel Inuyasha!" Kagome said excitedly "See I told you it was something special!" 

"Be quite!" Suddenly the excitement faded from her voice to be replaced by alarm.

"Inuyasha, look out!" The half-demon turned to just in time to have a demons claws rake across his chest. He stumbled back a few steps and Kagome gasped in alarm, but then he straightened up, completely unharmed by the attack. He had felt the claws scrape across the armor but they hadn't even scratched it. Inuyasha glared at his attacker and then swung the Tetsusaiga at it.

"Take this!" The sword cleaved the creature in two but as it hit flames flared and the corpse was ash by the time it hit the ground, consumed by powerful flames.

"Huh?" Inuyasha held his sword for a better look at it. It looked exactly the same except for a red aura that seemed to flare about the blade. "Well, what do you know? This might be useful after all." 

"What? How could you gain such power!" Naraku's voice snapped Inuyasha back to really and he turned toward the puppet.

"I don't know but lets see what this thing can really do! HA!" Inuyasha swung Tetsusagia as hard as he could in the puppets direction, the red aura suddenly growing brighter. What looked like an arch of pure flame left the blade and sped toward the puppet, hitting and turning it to ash within seconds. With the death of the puppet most of the insects fled, allowing Miroku to suck up most of the demons he had been fighting, significantly increasing the odds. Suddenly a red light flared around Inuyasha and his armor disappeared, rushing back into the jewel. The half-demon blinked and took out the ruby. 

"Wow Inuyasha!" Kagome jumped up. "You did great!" 

"Good Job Inuyasha." Sango said as she and Miroku walked over to them. Kirara, still in her larger form, walked over and rubbed up against Inuyasha affectionately. 

"I was right, your jewel did contain great power." 

"Feh, so what, it's not like that thing was actually Naraku or anything." He snorted back at her. 

"So what?" Kagome asked. "It still means that you have more then you did before right?" 

"What good's power if I don't know how to use it?" He asked her. 

"I don't know how to use my power either but that just means that we have to learn how to use." She declared. "After all, it took you awhile to figure out how to use Tetsusagia's power didn't it?"

"That's completely different!" 

"Really? Why is it's so different? We know the jewels have great power, but we just don't know how to use it!"

"We don't even know how we activated them in the first place! This isn't a sword that you can experiment until you get it right!" The two combatants glared at each other for a few seconds, tempers flaring, until Sango spoke up.

"Look." The demons slayer said pointing. Everyone turned in time to see a badly burned Kagura stumbled out of the woods. She pulled a feather from her hair and tossed into the air transforming it.

"Should we go after her?" She asked as she started to get on Kirara.

"No." Miroku said before she could complete her action.

"Why in the hell not!?" Inuyasha demanded.

"We are all weary from battle right now, casing after an enemy as strong as Kagura in our condition would be foolish." Every nodded in except Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

"Besides something was wrong."

"I know." Sango agreed.

"What do you mean "wrong"?" Inuyasha asked.

"I mean that in all our battles with him has Naraku ever done anything remotely like this before?" Miroku replied.

"No, but so what? It just means that he has some new tricks up his sleeves, it doesn't mean anything."

"I do not think that Naraku spend this much energy just to retrieve a single jewel shard." The monk said. "I believe that he was after something else as well." Miroku looked after the retreating Kagura. "So real question would be, what was he after?" 

to be continued…..

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Well that's the end of another chapter. I am so sorry that I took so long to get this chapter out but that stupid fight seen was hard to write! I must've rewrote it about five or six times. Anyway, the next chapter will hopefully be out much sooner then this one! 

R & R but constructive criticism only please, I will not tolerate flames. 

And thanks to my reviewers: emerald dragon hanyou, navya, me , and jubilationl5

-Plantress

NEXT TIME: **CHAPTER FIVE: DEALS AND DARKNESS**


	5. Chapter Five: Deals and Darkness

I do not own Inuyasha or Legend of Dragoon in any way, shape, or form. However any original characters belong to me and you may not use them without permission.

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Dragoons of the Sacred Jewel

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Chapter Five: Deals and Darkness

Naraku frowned as he considered the small pile of ashes on the floor, all that was left of the control of his demon puppet. He was sitting in a castle that he had surrounded with an almost impenetrable barrier, and filled with his miasma. His poisonous insects would warn him when anything of significant strength came near. Next to these defenses even the strength of Tetsusagia seemed insignificant to him, but now….now things had changed.

There was only one person who could make him feel uncomfortable in his own fortress was the undead priestess Kikiyo. Her holy power could harm even a demon of his strength. If she had put her mind to it then she might have posed a threat to him, because he would not be able to harm her, at least now as long as he bore the idiot Onigumo's heart within him. Luckily, she was determined to find some way she could drag the half-demon Inuyasha down to hell and largely ignored him. The girl Kagome, although she claiming to be the reincarnation of Kikiyo, did not have the skill or experience to be a threat, at least not now when he was aware of her powers. Then a few days ago he had sent a demon, enhanced with a shard of the Jewel, to test them and entice them if the defeated it. However, in the midst of the battle the girl had elevated herself from minor nuisance to potential threat. Somehow she managed to call enough strength to not only defeat his demon but to purify the shard it carried as well! Curious about the strange increase he had sent one of his insects to spy on them…. he had found out about the gem the group had gotten hold of.

The moment he had gotten word of it he had immediately started made plans to acquire it. If he could get a hold of that gem, and gain its powers then he would be unstoppable! He had sent one of his demon puppets, along with Kagura, to carry out his plans. It had nearly worked too…but the hanyou had once again managed to thwart him. Naraku turned a disgusted glare on the pile of ashes before he brushed them away irritably. Even though he had maintained only a faint connection to the puppet he had _still _felt the heat when Inuyasha had unleashed his attack! Naraku growled at turned away from the remains of his failure. He could not allow this to continue, could not allow that idiotic hanyou to keep gaining power! If this continued, and if they did manage to find more shards, then they could one pose a real threat to him. If he didn't stop this now then he might actually have to…. suddenly the demon was snapped out of his train of though as an insect flew up to him. He listened to it for a second then smiled.

"Kagura, come here." He called. A minuet or so later and the demoness appeared.

"I am here Naraku." The demon smirked when as he examined her. Although she had managed to avoid the blunt of Inuyasha attack she still bore some burns. Her face was streaked with soot and one of the feathers in her hair had been charred almost beyond recognition.

"We have a visitor, would you please go and extend our….hospitality to them?" Kagura snapped her fan closed and let a wicked smile play over her face. After the humiliating defeat at the hands of Inuyasha she _really _needed to vent her frustrations on someone.

"Of course Naraku, it would be my pleasure."

Meanwhile outside Lloyd walked back and forth, examining the barrier as he did so. Even though the thing was annoy and preventing him from finishing his mission, the wingly still had to admire whoever had put it up. The barrier that prevented anyone from coming into the wingly valley was stronger, but only because several magic-used were behind it. For a shield to be this strong, it would have to have a something extremely powerful supporting it.

__

But no one could be that they? He though as he took a step backwards and looked upwards, in the direction where the top would be if he, could see it. Shaking his head to clear it he turned back to the barrier. He had already tried several spells on it, but he hadn't weakened it at all, so the he tried the one alternative that was left open: brute force. Spreading wings of light, the wingly flew backwards until he was a good distance from the barrier. Then he summoned a fireball and hurled it directly the barrier. It struck the shield with a spectacular explosion and when the smoke cleared…nothing had changed. Not the least bit surprised Lloyd descended slowly. He had no idea how to proceed and truthfully he wasn't to disappointed. Unconsciously the scout slipped his hand into this belt pouch and fingered the two small spheres' in it.

Meru's plans were normally excessively elaborate but they at least they made some sense. This one however…. Well back at home in the wingly valley the phrase "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" had made sense but out here things were different. Seeking the alliance of the creature Naraku had seemed like a good idea but now he wasn't so sure. Whenever he touched the barrier that the demon had put up he felt a chill sweep down his spine. It was not a pleasant sensation and he could feel something else in the barrier as well, something darker and far more dangerous than anything he had ever encountered before. Normally the power of the dragoon couldn't be used unless one of the dragoon spirits choose you as its holder. However if Naraku, or anyone for that matter, ever figured out how to use the power without being a dragoon then they could prove to be an even worse menace than the dragoons themselves!

With that last though Lloyd took another long look at he shield. He still had no idea how to proceed.

"Now what am I suppose to do?" He said out loud. No one answered his plead so the wingly shrugged and reached out toward the shield once again. Then a slight movement out of the corner of his eye caught Lloyd's attention and he jumped into the air in alarm, barely avoiding several wind blades that slammed into the ground he had been standing on moments before.

"You're very quick." A voice called. Lloyd landed then looked around and glared at the demon who was standing a few yards away from him.

"What do you want?" He growled and tensed.

"You're the one who's trespassing." She answered and flicked open her fan. "And I'm afraid that you'll have to be punished."

"Listen to me first! I was sent here to…."

"Wind Blade!" Lloyd jumped once again, this time spreading his wings and taking flight.

"Would you just listen to me!" He shouted down at the demon. Then he noticed her wide grin. The wingly began to feel nervous.

"What wasn't a wise move." She taunted.

"What?" Lloyd started then looked closer at he demon. She grinned wider.

"I am Kagura the Wind Sorceress. All the air in and surrounding the castle is under my command."

"Sht" Lloyd muttered under is breath and started to descend as rapidly as he could. Unfortunately before he could even touch the ground she swept her fan out in front of her. Tornadoes formed and headed for him. The scout tried to get out of the path of them and although he was able to avoid any direct damage the winds were able to pull him into the body of one of the whirlwinds. Lloyd struggled to get out of the winds but knew it was useless. He would be ripped apart in seconds unless….. He concentrated as hard as he could blocking out the pain that tearing the winds were causing him and whispered the last few words of the spell hoping that they were loud enough to activate. A second later he was engulfed in light and a feeling of relief spread though him as the teleportation spell pulled him out of harms way. It wasn't until the spell ended that the wingly realized his mistake. When teleporting you had to have a picture of the place you wanted to go in your mind and in his haste Lloyd hadn't done that. He reappeared ten feet above the ground in a clearing nearly a mile form the castle. Sheer exhaustion kept him from spreading his wings in time and when he him he felt he breath blasted from his lungs and heard something snap. Trying to bite back a groan the wingly attempted to climb to his feet but went down again and this was unable to bite back the cry of agony as he broken ankle collapsed. Covered in cuts and bruises, breath still labored from the fall and a broken ankle. Even though he still technically supposed to be on his mission Lloyd had no desire to fight the wind demon again. Steeling himself for the lecture he would get for running away the scout began to whisper the words for the teleporting spell, this time making sure to keep the picture of the wingly valley in his head. Nothing happened. Worried now Lloyd repeated the words again but again there wasn't even a flash of light. Once he realized what was wrong the wingly scout began to curse. He had already used his magic several times today and now with the pain of his injuries no helping his concentration he didn't have enough left cast a simple light spell. A suddenly rustle in the bushes made him tense. He waited for several minuets before he settled down once more.

Right now he wasn't even able to defend himself much less start toward home. He would rest for tonight he decided, then start to fly home tomorrow. It would take him several days to make in back to the valley but that was better then staying near Naraku's Castle. Something about it had seemed very wrong to the scout.

"I still think that this is a bad idea…."

"Who asked you monk!?" Walking behind the two boys, Kagome and Sango looked at each other and then sighed. Against better judgment Inuyasha had decided to try and follow Kagra. They had started walking in the direction she had taken, with Inuyasha confident they could probably find rumors of strange occurrences in nearby towns.

"All I'm saying is that we have no idea how far away Naraku's castle really is." Miroku had tried several times to stop Inuyasha from following but so far had been unsuccessful.

"Why are you so scared?" Inuyasha stopped and glared at Miroku. "It's almost like you don't want to find Naraku!"

"Inuyasha that last attack on us was not normal." The monk gazed in the direction they had been walking. "For some reason Naraku took a lot of time to design an elaborate trap just to get back one jewel shard. I want to know why this is so important to Naraku before I go charging into battle."

"Feh…" Inuyasha looked away. He turned back angrily to Miroku but Sango spoke up before they could say anything else.

"What _could_ Naraku have wanted?" The demon slayer asked. "I mean, aside from the jewel shard we have, why else would he attack us? Revenge?"

"Your right, it is possible that Naraku had other motives for staging an attack like that." Miroku said thoughtfully. "But I don't see what else Naraku could want so badly…." He trailed off then looked over at Kagome.

"Kagome, have you used your jewel at all since you transformed?" The young woman shook her head.

"No, but it did start glowing again." She lifted its chain so that everyone could see the soft light that came from the center. "I noticed it right after our battle."

"You don't think that Naraku wants Kagome's gem do you?" Sango spoke up surprised. As she spoke Kirara jumped from her shoulder and wandered over to the edge of the forest, unnoticed by everyone except Shippo.

"It's a possibility." The monk answered. "Kagome did manage to defeat a powerful demon in one blow…. And perhaps Naraku sees her as a potential threat."

"What!?" Kagome looked over at him. "But I thought he was only scared of Kikyo!"

"And because you're her reincarnation perhaps Naraku now fears you as well."

"Now that you mention it didn't it seem like he was after Kagome the whole time?" Inuyasha looked at her thoughtfully. "I mean, he could have killed but it seemed like he was trying to keep us separated."

"Perhaps he's just trying to get the jewel. It would make sense if he's already figure out that that's is what caused Kagome's increase in power." Miroku looked at the pearl that now outside of her shirt.

"What's the matter Kirara?" Shippo's voice came from somewhere off to the side. Everyone looked over and saw Shippo standing by a hissing, spiting Kirara.

"Shippo what happened?" Sango asked as they walked over to the fox demon was.

"I don't know, she just walked over here and then looked under that tree and started hissing." The demon slayer looked down in concern at her pet then looked in the direction Shippo had pointed to. All she saw was a large tree who's own branches cast it's roots into shadow.

"I don't see anything."

"I can't smell anything either." Inuyasha had come over as well.

"Nor do I detect the presence of any demons." Miroku looked over at it. Despite her appearance everyone knew that the tiny cat demon had at least the intelligence of a human. She wouldn't be acting like this for now reason at all…yet she hadn't transformed so there was no immediate danger.

"It couldn't hurt to look." The monk started toward the tree. Inuyasha grumbled and followed after. In short order the group spread out and began to search the area around the tree, even though no one had any clue what they where searching for. Shippo was searching by the trees roots, down on his hands and knees the tiny fox demon was searching the nooks and crannies that where too small for anyone to see.

He looked over to see how the others where doing then glanced down at his paws and stopped short, staring. His arm had disappeared up the elbow in darkness.

"IIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

"Shippo!?" Kagome whirled around and caught Shippo has he jumped into her arms. She looked down at him concerned. "What happened?" Shaking the fox-child simply pointed over to where he had been searching. At first Kagome didn't see anything out of the ordinary and was about ask Shippo if he had been imagining until she saw the stick that Shippo had kicked when he ran away. It was lying half in and half out of the shadow. The young woman took an involuntary step backwards as she looked at it. A twig with a leaf one it was in the middle of the stick. It looked like it was cut in half. The other members of the group had come over to see what Shippo's scream was about as well and saw the stick too. Miroku approached cautiously and poked the end of his staff into the shadow. It promptly disappeared and the monk quickly pulled it back out and examined the end of it.

"It appears unharmed and I don't sense any evil about but still…." He frowned. "This is unnatural. Have you ever heard of anything like this Sango?"

"No, never." The demon slayer was now frowning as well.

"Are you alright Shippo?" Kagome asked worriedly. The little kitsune looked down at his paw then put on a brave face.

"Of course! It would take more a couple of shadows to scare me!"

"Yeah, and I suppose you screamed with delight?" Inuyasha snorted. Shippo glared at him.

"You don't' know what your talking about!" He declared and turned his head away from the Hanyou.

"Look it's not hurting anything is it? Let's getting going before we loose the trail!"

"I don't think there was a trail to begin with!" Inuyasha glared at the tiny fox.

"What did you say!!!"

"Inuyasha would you stop teasing Shippo for a second?" Something in her voice made the half demon pause for a second.

"What's the matter Kagome?"

"Look." Was all she said then she reached up and touched the pearl. Almost as if in response the shadows seemed to flicker for a second. "It's very faint but I'm starting to get the same sense I got when we found these jewels." Almost as if she was sleep walking the young woman started toward where the puddle of darkness was.

"Kagome be careful!" Miroku warned. She simply shook her head, then bent down..

"I don't think it can hurt me. I mean it didn't even hurt Shippo!" Behind her the tiny fox demon looked insulted. She reached forward slowly until her finger tips barely touched the blackness…and a piercing silver light erupted from her amulet and seemed to run down her arm until it touched the shadow. When it did it flashed so brightly that she started and pushed herself away from it, blinking the spots away from her eyes.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha glared down at her. "What in the hell did you think you where doing!?" The half demon demanded.

"Are you alright?" Sango asked her at almost the same moment.

"I'm fine." She answered, then grabbed Sango's hand. The demon slayer pulled her to her feet. Only then did Kagome look down at what had been causing the shadows. Then she blinked. So did everyone else.

"It's a snakeskin." Miroku stated.

"How in the heck..?" The half-demon scratched his head.

"It had two heads." Shippo said. Everyone else immediately looked closer.

"Your right." The rest of the group was quite for a moment.

"It's strange." Miroku commented. "But I don't feel an evil presence here at all. It's almost like this is from a normal snake."

"A snake with two heads?" Inuyasha sneered at him.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said in a warning tone. However they where distracted when Kirara, who had been watching them until that point, turned and ran into the woods. Everyone looked at each other then turned and followed the tiny cat demon into the woods.

"Kirara?" Sango called after her pet. This time they heard the growls before the laid eyes on the Kirara, she was crouched in the brush, glaring at a patch of shadow. Remembering what had happened with the other patch of darkness, Kagome kneeled down and reached forward before anyone could stop her. The darkness immediately flared, then died. Another snakeskin lay there, slightly larger then the first one.

"It got bigger." Kagome commented. "But how could it grow so fast?"

"A shard of the sacred jewel?" Miroku asked her. The young woman paused for a second.

"It's not a Sacred Jewel Shard…." She said slowly "But….."

"But what?" A certain half-demon interrupted impatiently.

"It feels a lot like what I sensed before we found the gems." Kagome ignored him and held up her gem.

"You thinks it's another one?" Sango said and looked back over her shoulder frowning.

"Since we have no idea how many exist it's a possibility." The monk answered her. Meanwhile Kagome started walking forward.

"Hey, where are you going?" Inuyasha ran and caught up with her. The teenager adjust the quiver on her back as answered.

"I'm going to find out if that really is another one of the gems or what. I just have this….feeling that if it is we should get it back."

"It's probably a good to find it in anyway." Everyone looked back at Miroku. "Look if Naraku really is after these gems as well as the scared jewel, do you really want him getting his hands on one?"

"Yeah, your right." Inuyasha agreed grudgingly. "Let's go." And the group started after the snake.

At first it was hard to track the creature, and if it hadn't been for Kirara they probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with it. The tiny little cat demon seemed to have sixth sense for finding the cast off skins of the creature. As each skin was found and cleansed by Kagome, a terrifying pattern began to emerge. Each of the skins that they found was larger than the last one. The snake was growing fast. After a while they didn't find skins anymore. Instead they where finding individual scales. After that it was much easier to track. Trees where knocked aside in it's path, and large flat areas where it's body had swept a path made it possible for even a blind person to follow. Just as daylight began to fade Inuyasha stopped.

"It's close." He growled. "I can smell it." A suddenly crash from up ahead made everyone jump, and then Inuyasha was running towards the sound, sword drawn.

"Inuyasha! Wait!" Miroku called as he ran after the half-breed. Both of them were only a few meters away from the two girls when the suddenly seemed to just disappear, as if swallowed by the shadows under the trees.

"Wha? Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled. There was an extremely loud hiss followed by the sounds of something big moving rapidly. Then Inuyasha and Mirkou where flung out of the shadows. Kagome started to run toward the fallen half-demon but he was on his feet before she got there.

"Stay back!" He barked at her. "It's in there!" The young woman screeched to a stop before stopping staring as both Miroku and Inuyasha prepared to go back into the blackness.

"What are you doing?" She yelled. "You can't even see where it is!"

"But I can hear it and I can smell it!" Inuyasha shouted back. "And there is no way I'm letting an over grown worm get the best of me!" With that he plunged back in. Miroku stayed outside of the shadows for few seconds, hesitating, before he turned back to the two women.

"I'll try and dispel the darkness." He called out to the them. "Kagome, you stay back in case something happens. Sango you make sure nothing happens to her." Then he too disappeared. They stood there and stared after him as the sounds of battle erupted for inside the patch of darkness. For a second Inuyasha was once again thrown out of the darkness, but before they could react he had got up and returned to the battle. Sango's grip on her boomerang was so tight her knuckles had gone white. Kagome noticed this as her eyes strayed toward the darkness. Almost subconsciously her hand reached up and grabbed the pearl that hung about her neck. _I don't like this! _ She thought as she watched, or at least tried to. Aside from the sounds there was no way to tell what was going on inside. _Sango and I want to help but we can't! Inuyasha at least can use his nose to tell where it is and Miroku, well I guess maybe he can sense where the snake is but I can't tell anything from here! I would just be useless if I went in there now. _ Memories sprang into her mind. The battle after she had found her first gem. A bright light from her bow that wasn't and was an arrow. A demon dying from it. _I wish I could do that again. _A picture of the bright silver armor and rainbow wings filled her mind. _ I want to wear that armor again! _ Suddenly the gem, which had been glowing softly in her grasp, exploded in to white light. Kagome cried out in surprise and her Sango yell her name. Then almost as quickly as it had happened the light faded, leaving Kagome blinking. She was once again dressed in the same bright silver armor as before.

"Kagome!" The teenager looked up when she realized it was the second time that Sango had called her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She answered. Part of her was trying to figure out why her bow, which had previously been in is usual position, was now resting in her hand. Suddenly the practical part of her mind seized hold and the memory of the last time she had fought in her armor. Her mind reached a conclusion in less then a second and she pulled back on the bowstring, creating the arrow of light she had seen once before.

"What are you doing?" The demon slayer looked at her alarmed. "If you fire that now you might hit the Inuyasha or Miroku!" Kagome shook her head and smiled in what she hoped was assurance at her friend.

"Don't worry Sango. This is going to sound strange but I think that the arrow will only hit what I want it to." Her friend still looked skeptical but she did want to waste time arguing right now. Somehow she just knew that she had just said was just empty promises. It was like the armor had a life of it's own and knew what she wanted to do. Kagome drew back the bowstring and let the arrow fly.

The arrow hit the darkness and a flash of light lit up what was now almost full night, dazzling her eyes for a moment. Her vision cleared just in time to let her see darkness disappear. It wasn't driven back though, it was more like it was canceled out by the light. Now Kagome could see the snake, full thirty feet long and with, as Shippo had pointed out at the beginning, two heads. Both of them gave hiss in and turned in her direction, tails flickering out, searching for the person who had disturbed it. Beside her Sango was the first to recover.

"Hirakotus!" She shouted and hurled the bone boomerang at the creature. It went cleanly thought one of the heads and it fell with a crash to the earth. The remaining head gave a hiss of pain and started to slither toward her, bleeding badly from it the stump of neck that had once been it's brother. Suddenly Inuyasha leapt up now recovered from his momentary blindness.

"Wind Scar!" He shouted as he brought Tetsugia down. The attack slammed into the snake from the side and everyone watched as it seemed to dissolve in the bright yellow light.

"We did it!" Shippo cheered as he jumped up and down.

"Yeah. We did." Kagome said and smiled at her friends. Sango smiled back then started down to where the other two male members of their party waited. When they reached them, no one said anything for a few moments. Each person was still to busy with their own thoughts to say anything to the others. It was during this silence that a flash of light caught the demon slayer's eye. Sango turned toward it, curious, and then she saw the dark orb floating down. Instinctively her hand darted out and she watched as the dark shape settled into her hand where it burst into dark light. Her friends had watched her particular and had turned to regard her curiously. Now they all stared at her as the orb settled down.

"Can I see Sango?" Miroku asked. Mutely she held it out and watched as the monk took it. "It's like the snake." He said after a few seconds. "It's not evil. It's just here and full of darkness."

"You don't think it can do anything to Sango d…" Kagome stopped as her armor, which had stayed on much longer than it had last time, disappeared back into the jewel. The priestess glanced behind her to make sure that her wings were gone before she smiled. "You don't think it can do anything to Sango do you?" She asked at last.

"I don't think so." Miroku held up the dark jewel to the light then handed back to the demon slayer. "Since it seems to be the same as yours and Inuyasha's I doubt it can to anything to her."

"What do we do now?" Sango asked. Kirara had jumped up one her shoulder and sniffed at the gem as Sango held it up to her.

"Let's keep going forward." Inuyasha glared at all of them as spoke. "Look, every time we started heading in this direction we keep running into these jewels. I don't think it's just a coincidence."

"That's true." The monk turned and looked around. "In any case it's getting dark and we should set up camp. We'll figure out what to do in the morning."

Meanwhile in an area miles from were the half demon was Meru was flying through the night. The female wingly was tired and more than a little annoyed. She had sent Lloyd off on that wild goose chase for Narkau's assistance but she really didn't think he would succeed. If he did than it was all well and good but she need to have a real plan. Foremost in her mind at the moment was one thought: she must not send any winglies into battle. The last time they had tried to battle the dragoons, generations and generations ago, they slaughtered. So she had come up with another plan; use the half-demons own enemies against him. It should have been easy. Inuyasha had no shortage of wanted revenge but it was very few that might have a prayer of defeating him. Then of course she had to deal with those who wanted to fight, a risky business in and of itself. Now she was scouting the countryside, looking for anyone or anything that might be of use. Normally she would leave a job like this to her underlings but this was too important, too big for that. Something caught the female winglies eyes down below and she paused hovering in mid air as she watched what seem to be a dust devil streaking down the road at incredible speeds.

"What the…..?" Meru muttered as she watched. Her eyes narrowed when a large demon wandered out of the woods and into the dust devil's path. It turned it's bird like beak toward it and gave shrieking squawk. What happened next was too fast for her too see. All she saw was something explode from the dust devil and ram into the demon with incredible force. The demon gave shriek then collapse, dead, at his attackers feet. Flying closer Meru barely caught the brief image of a human shaped figure in a wolf skin before he took of again, going so fast he air whirled in his wake. Meru hovered for a few minuets a thoughtful look on her face. Even from distance she had been able to sense the demonic aura and knew that while he might have appeared human he wasn't one. Before her thoughts had come full circle two more figures accompanied by a small pack of wolves ran up where the dead demon lay. Curious Meru flew in for a closer look. This time she was careful to stay out of sight.

"Koga?" One called out panting. He looked around then hung his head.

"He didn't wait for us again." His companion moaned then flopped down. "I'm exhausted."

"We can't stop here! What if we loose Koga's trail? Well never find it again!"

"Okay fine! Lets go!" The two demons took off and the exhausted wolves followed them.

__

Koga? Meru flew down and settled in of the trees. "Where have a heard that name before?" She muttered to herself. After several minuets of searching her memory the wingly smiled. Ever since the winglies had sealed themselves in the valley they had been gathering information to aide in the search for dragoons. Originally it was to make sure that their ancient enemies didn't join forces with any of the more powerful demon tribes but over time it had evolved into a way of life. Once in a while they would even offer information to some of the more powerful Lords who wanted it, for a price of course. Still this gathering of information meant that her people knew the name of nearly ever Demon Tribe leader including Koga. He had taken over the Wolf Demon's at a young age but his tribe had suffered crippling losses when they had foolishly assaulted the castle of the powerful demon Naraku. From all reports his tribe had been destroyed but those reports seemed to have been exaggerated. But of more importance to Meru at the moment was something that seemed of almost no importance before; the rivalry of the Wolf Demon leader and a certain half demon. Now tired of hiding Meru flew down and landed on the path. "Why are you here Koga?" The wingly whispered. "And where are you going?" If the wolf demon ran into Inuyasha then it could complicate things. If he tried to fight the half-breed, which seemed most likely considering their past, then he would almost certainly be killed because even a demon would have trouble standing up to the power of a dragoon, even an inexperienced one like Inuyasha. On the other hand if he joined forces with that group then it would add another formidable foe to the list. Either way would mean that at least part of Meru's plan would have to be reworked. Fully intending to go back to her valley Meru took to the air once again but was stopped by the noise that had erupted up ahead. It was the sound of battle.

By the time she had managed to catch up to the wolf tribe the battle was over. Still it wasn't hard for the Meru to piece together the course of the battle. The demon, a low-slung beast with massive forearms and spikes running up and down it's back, had tried to ambush one of the demons. Whether the demon in question had been Koga or not was a moot point now. The leader of the tribe had joined the battle and quickly killed the beast. Incredibly powerful kicks had shattered the armor around it's head killed it. Meru shook her head as she looked down at it. Now matter how powerful he was the demon she doubted he would be able to pierce a dragoon's armor or catch a warrior with the power of flight. Already considering the wolf dead Meru turned to fly away but a spark of light from the corpse caught her attention. For a moment she hovered uncertainly but soon curiosity overwhelmed the wingly woman. Dropping down to the ground she padded over to the body cautiously. But once she was close enough to see what it was her hand darted out and pulled the orb from the demon. She stared at if for several moments before her mind finally realized what she was holding; a dragoon sprit. Meru looked down at the corpse once again mind whirling. It didn't make any sense. Why would a demon be caring one the most powerful magical artifacts in the world. Despite centuries of searching even the winglies had only managed to collect two of the things. Fortunately they had managed to kill the owners before they could figure out how to use the dragoon powers stored within, but they had failed with Inuyasha. Before the two had been demon slayers but still…… Meru paused as something in her mind clicked. The last two to gain spirits had been demon slayers and each had acquired them after slaying a powerful demon.

The latest two dragoon spirits had been found in the body of a demon.

"It can't be?" She asked unsure. It made a kind of weird sense. The dragoon themselves had to be accomplished warriors and what better way to prove yourself worthy of the spirit than defeating a powerful demon in combat? But then that would mean….

"The Leader of the Wolf Demon tribe is a dragoon!" She immediately took flight once more. The other winglies and the counsel had to be told. However soon the winglies wings slowed and she hovered thinking and planning.

Two dragoon that seemed to hate each other. Two threats to the survival of her race. Could they cancel each other out? In the past only one battle was ever recorded between dragoons and in that case they ended up killing each other. If Inuyasha and Koga managed to finish each other off then it would be killing two birds with one stone. But what if they didn't? What if one or both survived? Meru looked doubtfully down at the stone for a second before she realized some thing very important. She had informed no one about the new dragoon spirit. Even if her plan failed then there would be no way for anyone to connect it to her. With a grin the wingly shoot off grinning. All she had to do was make sure Koga got his hands on the stone. She was fairly sure that it wouldn't take him long to discover it's powers and go after the half breed. Still it would be better to keep out of his sight.

After all there was a chance that some else would see her or the wolf demon would tell some one what she had said, and she couldn't risk anyone finding out what she had done.

There, its done. Took me months of writers block and feeling guilty that I couldn't figure out how I wanted to say something but its' done. And right now I'm exhausted, sick, and I feel like I wanted to throw up. Still I can't help but feel glad that this is done because it's been bugging me since I actually do enjoy working on this story. Naraku and Kagura's scenes were the hardest to write and that was a major factor in the lateness of this chapter. As always please forgive any small grammar and spelling mistakes I make since those are a two of my weak points. R &R but please no flames.

--Plantress

And may you be spared from any illness since being sick sucks.


	6. Thunder Strike

I do not own Inuyasha or Legend of Dragoon in any way, shape, or form. However any original characters belong to me and you may not use them without permission.

Dragoons of the Sacred Jewel _Chapter Six: Thunder Strike_

Meru flew after the wolf demons as fast as she was able, the Earth Spirit she had found clutched in her fist. Few of the winglies knew why they had not been troubled by anyone wielding the dragon spirits, and fewer still wished to know. Still there were those whose job it was to know these things, and one of those was Meru herself. Although as of yet no wingly had been able to discover exactly what made a dragoon spirit accept a person everyone scholar and philosopher that had been able to examine the few in their keeping universally agreed that it has something to with strength, something to do with heart and apparently something to do with being human because not one wingly had been chosen as a dragoon. Although Meru wasn't sure exactly what heart had to with this spirit, she was fairly certain that this one had to do with strength. They other scouts had been keeping track of the hanyou and his friends ever since Lloyd had first reported the awakening of the Dragoon of Light. Each time the group had found another spirit, it had been inside a powerful demon. She hadn't told anyone of her suspicion yet Meru was starting to believe that the demons were guardians of sorts. A way perhaps for the spirits to find someone able to wield them because the monsters would not be willing to part with their prizes so easily. Whoever took the spirit would have to strong enough to slay the creature that carried the spirit…or at least that was what Meru thought. Even the two spirits that the winglies possessed had been plucked from the carcass of demons that had either meet with an accident or been slain by another demon.

That was one reason why she wanted to bring the spirit to Koga. If he was just another demon then the spirit wouldn't be of use to him and he would probably get rid of it. The leader of wolf demon tribe did not seem the type to keep a hold of a useless object. On the other hand if the wolf demon was the Dragoon of Earth…well the enemy of the enemy was my friend as the saying went. And even if he did join up with them there wasn't going to be any evidence that she was involved. As for the other reason….. There had been too many coincidences for her piece of mind lately. She did not like the new dragoons coming out and the king doing nothing to try and stop them. Perhaps with more dragoons and an even greater threat he would be forced to take action.

With that plan firmly in mind Meru looked up and frowned. She was positive that she would be able to catch up with the two underlings, but Koga was still ahead of her and he showed no signs of stopping. Meru growled to herself then closed her eyes and started the spell chant. The wingly knew that she was doing several dangerous things at once; casting a spell, flying with out looking ahead and teleporting to a location she wasn't even sure about, but at that moment she did not care. The winglies needed to act if they were to get the drop on their ancient enemies. With a flash of green light she reappeared in the air just ahead of the speeding Koga. Acting on a split second decision she threw the Earth Spirit at the on rushing wolf demon.

"Koga!" She shrieked and dove in to the trees and out of sight. When the wingly was certain that she was out of view of the wolf, she turned and looked back toward the demon. What saw made her smile. Not only had the wolf demon caught the spirit like she had expected him to but it was glowing softly, the sign that he had been chosen by the Dragoon Spirit of Earth. "So it's not only humans." She muttered to her self, pleased.

"What the…" Koga growled and stared at the spirit confused. That was when Meru realized the flaw in her plan. _The wolf demon had no idea what he was holding._ If he didn't know what the spirit was then he might just get rid of it, or worse think it was dangerous and try to destroy it. She wasn't sure if the wolf demon would be able to (after all even the winglies had been able to get rid of their spirits) but it wasn't something she wasn't to chance. Even if she risked revealing herself, she had to say something.

"Do you like the spirit, Koga?" She called out nervously. The wolf demon froze the whipped around frantically.

"Who's there?" He yelled. "Show yourself!" Meru decided to stay hidden.

"What you have in your possession is the Dragoon Spirit of the Earth." The wingly continued "An ancient artifact that grants the power of the earth to whomever it chooses as its wielder."

"Where are you?" The wolf demon yelled out again. "and who in the hell are you?"

"That's really not important." She said calmly. "All you need to know is that you have the key to great power in your hands."

"Okay whoever you are." Koga growled. "If this thing is some powerful why give it to me? Why don't you use it yourself?" Now Meru could hear mistrust in his voice as well as anger.

"I can't use it Koga it choose _you_! And I didn't give it to you; you earned it when you slew the demon that was its guardian. I just thought you would appreciate a prize for your efforts."

"Look, if this is a prize, then why are you hiding!" He demanded. "Too afraid to show your face?"

"If you really don't trust me then go seek out the half-breed Inuyasha. He has one of the spirit and so does the human woman who travels with him." With those last few words Meru took off and started toward her home.

"WHAT? What does the that dog-turd half to do with this? And what human woman do you mean? Are you talking about Kagome? ANSWER MEEE!" The wingly ignored the wolf demons enraged shouts and allowed herself to giggle a little. Now all she had to do was go and report back to the king. She would tell him that another dragoon had surfaced and was heading toward the others. Then maybe, just maybe, he would allow her to hunt down the threat to their race. Meru flew off, a new plan already forming in her mind.

Overhead thunder growled and Kagome glanced up nervously. The day after the battle with the darkness snake had started normal enough. They had managed to convince the people of the village that was by the forest that they had in fact killed the snake and the grateful people supplied them with food and gave them a place to sleep. They had left in the morning after exchanging the usually pleasantries. Unfortunately the storm clouds had rolled in around noon when they were too far from the village to reach if the storm decided to rain and there was no other town in sight. Now that the lighting had starting the young woman was beginning to wonder if they would be able to find shelter before the storm hit full force.

"We should look for some place to get out of this storm!" Kagome was extremely grateful to Sango and flashed a grin at her friend.

"Do you see any around here?" Inuyasha snapped back. It wasn't that he disagreed with her, he knew they should find somewhere to ride out the storm, but he was in a bad mood at the moment.

"She's right Inuyasha. We should look for some where before it starts to rain." Miroku called over his shoulder.

"Fine! Do whatever you want!" Inuyasha snorted. "Don't blame me if you can't find anywhere to…..HEY!" The half demon ran to catch up with his companions who had vanished into the forest. "Wait for me!"

As the group wandered deeper into the forest, Inuyasha hung back some. When he was sure no one was looking he pulled out the damned ruby of his and gazed at it. After the thing with the snake it had started to glow again but he hadn't mentioned it to anyone yet. Truthfully, he was still uneasy about the power the gem gave him. At least with the Tetsugia he had control of the sword and it's powers. He didn't like feeling helpless and that was how he felt about these damn gems! The reacted without anyone telling them too and seemed not to care what happened to their owners after they were done with them. They had no idea what kind of powers they had or even were the had come from. Inuyasha had too much experience with things that seemed to be beneficial and good only to have them turn on him at the last moment. Look at the Jewel of Four Souls. It gave who ever had it a lot of power too, but look at all the evil it had caused. Who's to say that the gems they were carrying weren't going to do the same thing?

"Inuyasha?" The hanyou yelped and dropped the jewel.

"What? I wasn't doin' anything!"

"No one said you were…." Sango said and gave him a strange look. "We found a cave and we're waiting for you." Inuyasha froze then grumbled and stalked toward the shelter muttering under his breath and trying ignore the blush that had spread across his cheeks.

"Are you alright?" Kagome asked when they walked into the cave. Miroku looked up from where he was tending the fire and watched as the young priestess walked over to the hanyou. "Your bright red. Are you coming down with something?" She reached up toward his forehead.

"I'm fine!" Inuyasha shouted as he slapped her hand away. "I don't sick like you do!"

"Well excuse me for worrying about you!" Kagome exclamation caught the dog demon by surprise. "Since you don't seem to worry about what happens to you!"

"I don't need some stupid girl worrying about me." He snapped. "I can take care of myself !"

"Fine then! Take care of yourself!" Kagome yelled at him just as the clouds broke and rain started to fall in sheets. She turned on her heel and stalked over to her backpack. The young woman started to pull things out of it with vicious anger.

"I will!" The half demon shouted back at her, then stalked over to the other side of the cave and sat down, glaring at Kagome. Shippo looked back and forth between them.

"This isn't going to be a good night, is it?" He asked Kirara. The cat demon just mewed in reply.

Later after Kagome had made ramen for everyone, Inuyasha left his post and walked over to where everyone else was sitting. He reached for a cup of ramen and ….

"Inuyasha, Sit Boy!" The half-breed quickly found himself tasting dirt instead of food.

"Wha…? What did you do that for!" He hopped to his feet and glared at the girl. She calmly picked up the bowl he had been about to eat.

"Why do you need my food if you're so good at taking care of yourself?" Kagome asked calmly.

"What? I don't believe this! You're just going to let me starve?" Inuyasha demanded. The hanyou stomach growled, as if trying to punctuate his speech. Kagome choose to ignore him. "Hey! Are you listening to me! Stupid woman…."

"Sit Boy!"

"Ack! Ow…." Shippo looked over to were Inuyasha was laying.

"Why don't you just apologize?" The little fox demon asked.

"Apologize for what?" The half-demon demanded. "I didn't to anything to that stupid…." A crack of lighting cut the half demon off and caused everyone in the cave to look up startled. The lighting hadn't was too close. And it hadn't come from outside, but from deeper in the cave itself. As silently as possible everyone shifted toward their weapons.

"Do any of you sense anything?" Sango asked quietly.

"A little….but it's a little like the sacred jewel. Like when we fought the snake demon and the other demons…." Kagome said quietly. Inuyasha sniffed the air and growled.

"It's a demon alright." He growled. "But I didn't smell anything earlier."

"This cave is probably linked to others caves underground." Miroku said as softly as he could as he stood up. "The demon might live down there and has been attacked by the noise we were making." He toward the entrance.

"Hey monk, where are you going? Don't tell me your running away?" Inuyasha asked.

"We can't stay here Inuyasha. If that demon comes up in here then we won't have enough room for us to fight."

"You're right." Sango followed him out. Kagome nodded and started to gather her things.

"Hey!" Inuyasha sputtered several protests then subsided. He knew Miroku was right but he would be damned if he was gonna admit it to that stupid monk! Suddenly Inuyasha felt more than saw or heard something behind him. He acted without thinking, running toward the young woman who had come to mean so much to him. "Kagome look out!" He screamed, pulling her down just a purple tinged lighting bolt hit the wall right were she had been standing a few moments before. "are you alright?"

"Yeah." She nodded answering.

"Bastard." Inuyasha growled and turned as the demon burst into the cave. All Inuyasha could see was several reptilian heads that roar and crackled. With a shriek one of opened it's mouth shot one another lighting bolt at them. Inuyasha cursed and leapt backwards, escaping the lighting bolt only to emerge into the downpour outside.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled over the storm as he ran over to them. "What's going on?"

"Get out of here idiot!" Inuyasha managed to shout back right before the demon burst out of the cave shrieking. Both the monk and the half demon barely managed to get out of the way as two of the creatures six heads snapped at them.

"Hirakotus!" Sango shout echoed above their downpour and Kagome cheered as the bone boomerang took off one of the demon's heads. But her triumphant shout died in her throat when two more heads sprouted from the severed stump. "Wha?" The demon slayer stammered as each of the new heads screamed with rage and shot a lighting bolt at her. Kirara managed to pull Sango into the air before the blasts could catch her and the demon slayer caught her return weapon as he balanced to the fire cats back. "What is that thing?" She yelled.

Kagome, who had been staring at the monster, suddenly realized why it seemed so familiar. A few months ago she had read a book on Greek mythology. In the book had been a story about the tasks that Hercules had had to perform. One of the tasks had been to slay a creature who could regenerate it's heads…. "It's a Hydra!" She yelled. "It will grow a two new heads for everyone we cut off!"

"How do you know?" Inuyasha demanded.

"I read it in a book."

"Feh. Whatever." He said irritably and set Kagome down. The young woman shrieked as soon as her feet were firmly on the ground.

"What now?" The hanyou demanded tensely, while the hydra continued to shoot lighting at Kirara, trying to bring the fire cat and her rider to the ground.

"The ground is soaking wet!" Kagome replied. During their hurry to find shelter she hadn't noticed that the area right outside the cave was lower than the entrance to the cave itself. The heavy rains had caused a small lake to form in the lower laying area. Inuyasha looked like over at her.

"And just what do you want me to do about it?" He growled. Suddenly he heard a scream behind him. It was enough warning for him to grab Kagome and leap out of the way as several of the heads decided it would be easier to attack the two targets on the ground. One of the hydra's heads, seeing its' prey escaping, fired a blast a little off too the side of the pair. "Ha, you missed!"

On the other side of the clearing, Sango was still circling, trying to find a way to get a clear shot at the hydra's body without cutting on the heads and creating a greater menace. Miroku had managed so far to avoid any lightning attacks and had been using his staff to foil most of the direct attacks. As the monk slammed on the heads with his staff, stunning it temporarily, he realized that he hadn't seen Shippo since the battle had begun. Fearing the worst he chanced a glance around and was relived to see the tiny Kitsune peering out of the cave. The hydra had been so focused on Kagome and Inuyasha that it had rushed right by him. Unfortunately with the monster itself now blocking their access to the cave, no one could get near enough to get him out. Suddenly the monster stopped attacking. All the heads came together for half a second or so almost as if the were communicating. Then just a suddenly they pulled a part. 

"What's it doing now?" Inuyasha asked as he set Kagome down. Miroku ran over to join them as Sango and Kirara landed.

"It's planning." The monk said grimly. Across from them each of the seven heads began to charge up their electric blasts for a large attack. The only problem was each of those huge blasts was aimed downward.

"What in the hell is it trying to hit?" The hanyou voiced another question as the watched the hydra. Kagome shifted, her shoes were wet and getting to be very uncomfortable. Then the priestess froze as she realized something. _Wet, lake, electricity. This isn't good! _ Miroku seemed to have reached the same conclusion she had.

"Everyone, off the ground now!' He yelled as he joined Sango on Kirara's back. Kagome felt Inuyasha grab her and jump backwards in to a tree at he edge of the clearing, just as the hydra's lighting breath hit the water, spreading through it and electrocuting any living thing that was unfortunate enough to still be on the ground, but seeming to not harm the hydra itself.

"It's trying to make sure we can't attack it from the ground." The monk called down at them, but Inuyasha barely heard him. As the electricity started to fade from the water, two more of the hydra's heads started to shot bolts into the water, keeping anyone from getting near it. Meanwhile the five other heads started to attack once again, shooting lighting, and snapping at Kirara anytime she flew to close. One of the heads was shooting lighting almost nonstop and Inuyasha was forced to leap from tree to tree to avoid the being fired.

"Are you alright?" He asked the young woman in his arms.

"I'm fine." Kagome answered. Suddenly her eyes widened. "Look out!" She shrieked as several lighting bolts headed for them at once. The hydra, apparently bored with it's little game, had decided to try and get ride of at least one of the nuisances. Inuyasha leapt to another tree, but had barely had time to land before another barrage of lighting bolts was already heading toward them. He reacted with out getting his bearings, leaping straight out as the tree exploded behind them. The half-demon looked down and stiffened when he realized that he had leapt toward the swamp that was still crackling with electricity. He stared at it in horror as they drew closer. Kagome buried her head in his chest, and it response the hanyou tightened his arms around her involuntarily. _I might be able to get out survive that, but Kagome won't, she'll be fired the moment I touch that water. _Even if he took off right as he landed, he would still get shocked. _She won't be able to survive. Damn, I can't let her die , like this. I'm not going to let anything happen to her! _ On his chest the gem began to glow brightly and fire once again engulfed the half-breed. Inuyasha blinked….then gasped as huge wings snapped open and caught him right before he touched the water.

In his arms Kagome turned too look up at him and gasped softly. When she had last seen him in the armor it had been in the middle of a fight and she hadn't had a chance to see just how powerful the armor seemed to be. Even now, holding up more weight than they should be able too, the wings didn't seem to be having any trouble. From this close Kagome could feel the slight heat of the armor, feel the power that seemed to lurk just below the surface of it. _Does mine feel like this too? _She wondered suddenly

"Are you alright?" Inuyasha's voice jolted her back to reality.

"Yeah." She said nodding once. At his point the hydra realized that it's prey hadn't been crisped and lunged for them again. The wings on the armor flexed and lifted them past the heads almost effortlessly. _Okay, we need to rid of that thing and fast. _Inuyasha thought as he looked down at it. _But we can't hit something that we can regenerate, and I can't fight if I'm protecting Kagome….I need to find some place were she can be safe for a little while. _ The half-demon looked around widely for a few seconds. His eyes strayed toward the cave they had so recently vacated. _There! _ There was a small ledge that was at top the entrance to the cave. It was just out of reach of the monster's fangs and a small boulder that had settled atop the ledge at some point would provide cover from the hydra's lighting bolts. He dodge the creatures attacks and flew over to it.

"Stay here." He told the young woman, then took off.

"Good luck, Inuyasha." Kagome whispered as he flew away.

Once in the air Inuyasha dove toward the creature trying to find a clear way to attack. Unfortunately since the hydra seemed to know that they wouldn't dare to attack it's heads, creating more threats, it was weaving its' heads in a deadly dance around it's body as the two heads fired lighting into the lake, preventing anyone from getting close enough to have a clear shot at the main body. The half-demon swerved to avoid one of the creature's heads and drew Tetsugia, hoping to get near enough to attack. Unfortunately that brought him to near to the other heads and one of them managed to latch grab him in its' jaws.

"INUYAHSA!" He heard Kagome scream his name and cursed. The hydra wouldn't stay occupied with him for long, and once it did her noise would attached it.

"Get back, I'm fine!" Inuyasha yelled back at her a few seconds before he realized that he really was fine. Although the creature was trying to bite him and he could feel the pressure of its jaw the teeth themselves weren't able to pierce through the fire armor he was wearing. A savage grin. "Too tough for you?" He growled at it, then brought the Tetsugia down. As the sword split the hydra's skull, fire sprang from the blade covering the head. In a trice the skull had been reduced to ashes, but the fire wasn't done yet. It continued to spread, racing down the neck until it reached the body burning the flesh so badly that there was no hope of it growing back at all. Sadly the flames died down before they managed to do any other damage to the hydra. Still the creature had never experienced pain like this before. All it's heads let loose piercing screams of pure pain and it's whole body writhed with agony. Seizing the chance Sango let Hirakotus fly. The bone boomerang neared the creature and for an instant the demon slayer thought that it was going to hit, but the creature managed to shift it's bulk out of the way before it was hit. Turning all it's heads toward the enemy in the sky and it let fly with a barrage of lightning that had Kirara dodging fanatically, trying to keep both the riders on her back and herself safe.

Meanwhile Inuyasha was flying higher into the sky acting on an instinct. He paused for a second with a savage smile on his face then turned and dove toward the creature, wings flaring into fire behind him.

"Don't like fire, do you?" He called down as he plummeted. The hydra turned it's heads toward him just as the hanyou flipped in the air and drew Tetsugia, using the force of his dive to drive the blade deep into the monster. Fire like that which had been gathering about his wings suddenly exploded from the sword, spreading thought the creature. It screamed in pure agony, heads thrashing in all directions, right before an explosion ripped across the clearing as the fire created by Inuyasha's gem consumed it, leaving behind nothing but ashes.

For a few seconds after the abrupt end of the battle nothing moved. All the combatants were too busy staring at the clearing that had moments before been filled with water. Now there was nothing but ground slightly warm ground that was steaming in the gentle rainfall. The storm had slackened off over the course of the fire and no one had noticed. In the center of the clearing was a small area that had burned black by the force of the flames, and in the middle of the circle was Inuyasha. The half-demon snorted then shifted his sword onto his shoulder as the armor turned back into flames and once again retreated back into the gem. Everything held still for another half a minuet, but then everyone began to move again. Then Kirara flew down and landed in the field as Shippo ran out of the cave toward Inuyasha. The tiny fox demon turned and leapt on to his shoulder.

"What did you do?" The kit asked wide eyed.

"I don't know." Inuyasha answered. He looked down at the burned area and shook his head. "It was like I knew what I was suppose to do, like something was telling me what would happen."

"Your gem maybe?" Miroku asked as he walked over.

"I guess." The hanyou said agreed doubtfully. He stared at the gem that was resting on his chest, unremarkable now that it's power had been spent.

"You don't think it can control us, do you?" Sango picked pulled out her own gem and gazed at it worriedly as she voiced her question.

"I don't know. We know almost nothing about these gems and what we do know is only based on personal experience. You'll have to ask Kagome if her gem did the same thing to her….Inuyasha were is Kagome?"

"I'm up here!" Aforementioned priestess called from her ledge. "Can someone get me down from here?"

"Kagome, are you alright?" Sango called up at her.

"I'm fine, aside from being stuck up here!" Inuyasha started toward the ledge but stopped when Kirara soared past him. The half-breed let out an incomprehensible grumble as the cat demon let the young woman mount her.

"What's your problem?" Shippo asked suddenly. Inuyasha jumped glared at the kitsune. As the half-demon tried to think of something to say to the kit, he watch out of the corner of his eye as Miroku suddenly stopped, stared at the ground, then leaned down and picked something up. A bright violet light filled the clearing. Everyone started at the small violet gem that was now glowing softly in Miroku's hand.

"I don't think this is coincidence." The monk repeated grimly.

The next day the group headed back toward Keade's village.

"I need to get for a test." Kagome had told everyone. "And even if Keade doesn't know what these things are, we should at least get her advice."

"That is a good idea." Miroku agreed as he stared at his own stone. "Perhaps Lady Keade will know some who can tell us more about the stones." Everyone had agreed even, much to everyone's surprise, Inuyasha. What the hanyou didn't tell everyone was that he was nervous. Before the battle started he had no idea how to activate his fire armor. Now he was almost sure that he could if it had enough energy, and he thought it did. The gem had grown more powerful, he was almost sure of him. Added to that was the worry of what he had felt during the battle when he was transformed. The dive hadn't been a random act for him, it had been and instinct that was guided by a vision of what would happen if he attacked like that. It was as if something had been guiding him, telling him how to use this new power that he had gained. That more than anything was unnerving him. The half-breed hadn't told anyone else of his suspicions yet partially because he was too proud to admit he was nervous and partially because he was afraid that they would think the whole thing was in his mind but still…. Kagome even said that the gems felt a little bit the sacred jewel did. Was it really going so far to think that they could be corrupted like the jewel could be?

"Do you think that this has something to do with Naraku?" Inuyasha jerked his head up at Sango's question.

"I don't think so." Miroku answered after a moment's pause. "He seemed to want both the Kagome's gem when attacked us and went through great lengths to try and get a hold of it. I seriously doubt he would do something like that if he had known the kind of power the gems possessed."

"But I do now monk." Everyone whirled around and stiffened when the saw the familiar white baboon belt in the trees. "And I can't allow you to keep your little toys any longer!" The puppet exploded into motion, sending out tentacles with surprising speed. They lashed out at the companions, and although almost everyone managed to get out of the way, a second one caught Miroku as he dodged.

"Watch out!" Sango yelled out a fraction of a second to late. The tentacle hit he monk….and a flash of purple light filled the clearing as everyone froze. When the light finally faded Miroku was visible, unharmed, now wearing the same type of winged armor that Inuyasha had worn, only this time purple in color. The monks staff had now transformed as well. The top was still metal put was now much harder and sharper even though it was now a light purple color. The bottom portion of the staff had been transformed into some kind of metal that matched the color of the armor itself. Small bolts of lighting rippled up and down the staff, arcing between the rings at the top but never harming Miroku. The monk stared at the armor for a second before realizing he was still in danger. He got the staff up to block on of the strikes by the demon puppet, and watched in fascination as the lighting that covered the staff discharged into the tentacle when it touched the staff itself, forcing the tentacle to curl back.

"You alright?" Some one called.

"I'm fine." The monk answered back as he dodged another attack. A plan had begun to form in his mind as he watched the lighting play over his weapon, and now he decided to put it to the test.

"Take this!" Miroku threw the his staff as hard as he could into the main body of the puppet. Just as he had hopped the lighting stored within the staff exploded outward, bolt of it shoot out and covered the puppet as a burning smell entered the air. The demon puppet jerked weirdly for a few seconds before it finally died its' control device charred beyond recognition.

"Good job Miroku." Shippo called out, then sweatdropped as the power his gem ran out and the monk fell, landing in a very undignified heap.

"Are you….alright?" Kagome asked incredulously.

"I'm fine." Miroku pulled himself to his feet wincing. "But I think that this increases the urgency our trip. We need to find to find out exactly what this things are."

He received no arguments as they set out once again.

There done. This took waaaayyy to long to get up and I am really, really, really sorry but now that I'm out of school I can put more time into my writing. I had some trouble with Koga, but I think I did okay in the end.

As before I will be messing with the various Dragoon attacks both to make them fit in with the characters and to create a better story. As before please read and review!

Plantresss

Onto the next chapter!


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